岡山大学教育推進機構教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 16 2026 町づくりを考える実践事例の検討 ―総合的な学習の時間を通じた中学生の意識変化に着目して― 191 203 EN Akemi KAMADA Anan City Anan First Junior High School Kazuaki KAJII Faculty of Education, Okayama University 10.18926/CTED/70369 　本研究は，中学校総合的な学習の時間における町づくりにおいて，他者との協働や相互作用を通じて町づくりを構想し，実践の結果生じた学習者の変化からその効果を明らかにすることを目的としている。また，対話的な学びで重視される他者との相互作用を，中学校の実践に落とし込み，そのあり方についても検討する。本実践のねらいは，多様な視点から町の将来の姿やあり方を人との関わりについて読み解き，持続可能な町のあり方について自分事に引き寄せて考えることで，町に対する意識の変化を促すことにある。実践の結果，学習者の町に対する見方や考え方の意識変化が引き起こされ，町づくりの持つ地域課題について自分事に引き寄せて思考することができた。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Springer Science and Business Media LLC Acta Medica Okayama 2397-4648 11 1 2026 Band-selective plasmonic polaron in thermoelectric semimetal Ta2PdSe6 with ultra-high power factor 23 EN Daiki Ootsuki Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Okayama University Akitoshi Nakano Present address: Department of Applied Physics, Nagoya University Urara Maruoka Present address: Department of Applied Physics, Nagoya University Takumi Hasegawa Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University Masashi Arita Research Institute for Synchrotron Radiation Science, Hiroshima University Miho Kitamura Present address: NanoTerasu Center, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) Koji Horiba Present address: NanoTerasu Center, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) Teppei Yoshida Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University Ichiro Terasaki Present address: Department of Applied Physics, Nagoya University We report the electronic structure of the thermoelectric semimetal Ta2PdSe6 with a large thermoelectric power factor and giant Peltier conductivity by means of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). The ARPES spectra reveal the coexistence of a sharp hole band with a light electron mass and a broad electron band with a relatively heavy electron mass, which originate from different quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) chains in Ta2PdSe6. Moreover, the electron band around the Brillouin-zone (BZ) boundary shows a replica structure with respect to the energy originating from plasmonic polarons due to electron-plasmon interactions. The different scattering effects and interactions in each atomic chain lead to asymmetric transport lifetimes of carriers: a large Seebeck coefficient can be realized even in a semimetal. Our findings pave the way for exploring the thermoelectric materials in previously overlooked semimetals and provide a new platform for low-temperature thermoelectric physics, which has been challenging with semiconductors. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教育推進機構 Acta Medica Okayama 1881-5952 3 2026 From The Odyssey to The Zahir：The Evolution of Penelopeia Across Time and Tradition 120 128 EN Saida KHALMIRZAEVA Faculty of General Education and Global Studies, Okayama University 10.18926/70116 The story of a man who leaves home and strives to return has become one of the most enduring narrative patterns in world literature and folklore. Across centuries and cultures, it has been retold in myths, epics, folktales, and modern fiction—the story of the homecoming hero who, after long absence and peril, finds his way back to the place and the person he once called his own. This study explores the persistence and transformation of this universal motif through a comparative reading of Homer’s The Odyssey and Paulo Coelho’s The Zahir. It examines the evolving image of the waiting wife—from Homer’s Penelopeia, emblem of chastity and endurance, to Coelho’s Esther, a modern woman of independence and choice. Despite differences in setting, voice, and moral vision, both works embody the same human longing: to return, to be recognized, and to rediscover love that endures time and change. Beneath their differences lies the same truth—the heart to which every journey, whether physical or spiritual, must ultimately return. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教育推進機構 Acta Medica Okayama 1881-5952 3 2026 セクシュアリティのゆらぎと発達障害のADHDとの関連 1 11 EN Megumi MATSUI Institute for Promotion of Education and Campus Life, Okayama University 10.18926/70108 　セクシュアリティのゆらぎと発達障害のADHDとの関連を明らかにするため，WEBによる縦断調査を行った。18歳以上の成人を対象とし，第1回目の調査は11,018人，1年後の第2回目の調査では5,474人から回答を得た。性自認，性的指向，性表現の様々なセクシュアリティについて，2回の調査での該当・非該当で4群に分け，ADHD得点について1要因の被験者間分散分析を行った。「デミロマンティック」「デミセクシュアル」以外で群の主効果が有意であり，「異性愛」「ゲイ」を除くセクシュアリティで，2回とも「非該当」群よりも「該当→非該当」群のADHD得点が有意に高かった。これによりセクシュアリティのゆらぎとADHDとの関連が示唆された。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Springer Science and Business Media LLC Acta Medica Okayama 2730-664X 6 1 2026 Effects of an oral exercise intervention on pre-frailty or frailty in older people: a randomized clinical trial 96 EN Noriko Takeuchi Department of Preventive Dentistry, Division of Dentistry, Medical Development Field, Okayama University Nanami Sawada Section of Preventive and Public Health Dentistry, Division of Oral Health, Growth and Development, Faculty of Dental Science, Kyushu University Sakura Inada Division of Health Promotion, Okayama-City Health Center Manabu Morita Department of Oral Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Care Sciences, Takarazuka University of Medical and Health Care Daisuke Ekuni Department of Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Background: Frailty is often experienced by older adults, which can lead to long-term health problems. We aimed to examine associations with improvements in nutritional status, sarcopenia (age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength), and frailty in four groups with different oral exercise frequencies. Methods: We conducted a prospective, parallel multi-arm randomized controlled trial (Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (jRCT) 1062210063) to test the effects of oral exercise on frailty in older adults. Each intervention consisted of a standardized oral exercise protocol including neck exercises, lip exercises, and tongue movements, designed to improve oral function and reduce frailty. The primary outcome was the change in the number of frailty criteria from baseline to follow-up. Individuals aged ≥60 years were screened for frailty status using standardized criteria at the Department of Preventive Dentistry at Okayama University Hospital between October 2022 and December 2023. Those identified as pre-frailty or frailty were eligible and enrolled in the study. After screening 60 individuals, 58 eligible participants were randomly assigned using block randomization to one of four oral exercise frequency groups: 3 times/day & everyday, 3 times/day & 3 days/week, once/day & everyday, and once/day & 3 days/week. A two-way repeated measures analysis of variance was used to evaluate the impact of the four frequencies of oral exercise methods on frailty in older adults. Outcome assessors were blinded; participants were not. Results: Here we show the results of the 58 participants. Group sizes are: 3 times/day & everyday (n = 14), 3 times/day & 3 days/week (n = 15), once/day & everyday (n = 14), once/day & 3 days/week (n = 15). The trial is completed as planned, and all randomized participants are analyzed. The main effect of time is significant for the number of frailty criteria (F = 14.803, p < 0.001, partial eta squared = 0.215). The mean changes from baseline to follow-up are −0.357 (95% Confidence Interval −0.787 to 0.073) in the 3 times/day & everyday group, −0.600 (95% Confidence Interval −1.255 to 0.055) in the 3 times/day & 3 days/week group, −0.571 (95% Confidence Interval −1.379 to 0.236) in the once/day & everyday group, and −0.600 (95% Confidence Interval −1.008 to −0.192) in the once/day & 3 days/week group. The main effect of time is also significant for the number of oral hypofunction criteria (F = 16.456, p < 0.001, partial eta squared = 0.234). No important adverse events or side effects related to the intervention were observed. Conclusions: After conducting oral exercises for 3 months on older adults with pre-frailty or frailty, improvements in frailty are observed. Overall, these exercises could be a simple, low-cost way to support healthy aging in the community. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI AG Acta Medica Okayama 1424-8220 26 4 2026 A Generative AI–Based Technical Data Extraction Tool for IoT Application Systems 1081 EN Dezheng Kong Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Nobuo Funabiki Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Htoo Htoo Sandi Kyaw Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University I Nyoman Darma Kotama Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Zihao Zhu Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Alfiandi Aulia Rahmadani Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Nowadays, Internet of Things (IoT) application systems play an essential role in smart cities, industry, healthcare, agriculture, and smart homes. For non-expert users, designing and implementing IoT application systems remains challenging, especially when configuring sensors, edge devices, and server platforms. To support configuration tasks of IoT application systems, we have developed an AI-based setup assistance tool. However, AI models still fail to reliably support newly released or previously unseen devices, sometimes producing incomplete or erroneous outputs that may lead to configuration failures. Incorporating their technical-document information into Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is an effective way to supplement AI knowledge and improve reliability. In this paper, we propose a generative AI-based technical data extraction tool to address the challenges. It extracts essential technical information using the schema-based extraction from given PDF or HTML datasheets and converts it into a structured format suitable for AI-supported configurations. A local vector database is used to enable semantic similarity retrieval and provide document-grounded evidence for RAG-based answering, ensuring consistent support for previously unseen IoT devices. For evaluations, we applied the proposal to several sensor and device datasheets and compared extracted specifications with ground-truth values to measure accuracy and completeness. Then, we compared end-to-end configuration QA reliability against a commercial baseline (ChatPDF) using the golden benchmark. The results show that the proposed tool reliably acquires key specifications and significantly improves end-to-end configuration QA reliability. Across 960 golden QA pairs, the proposed method improves Recall from 0.636 to 0.926 and Accuracy from 0.595 to 0.807 compared with ChatPDF. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI AG Acta Medica Okayama 2813-2203 5 1 2025 A Threshold Selection Method in Code Plagiarism Checking Function for Code Writing Problem in Java Programming Learning Assistant System Considering AI-Generated Codes 2 EN Perwira Annissa Dyah Permatasari Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Mustika Mentari Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Safira Adine Kinari Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Soe Thandar Aung Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Nobuo Funabiki Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Htoo Htoo Sandi Kyaw Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Khaing Hsu Wai Graduate School of Engineering Science, Akita University To support novice learners, the Java programming learning assistant system (JPLAS) has been developed with various features. Among them, code writing problem (CWP) assigns writing an answer code that passes a given test code. The correctness of an answer code is validated by running it on JUnit. In previous works, we implemented a code plagiarism checking function that calculates the similarity score for each pair of answer codes based on the Levenshtein distance. When the score is higher than a given threshold, this pair is regarded as plagiarism. However, a method for finding the proper threshold has not been studied. In addition, AI-generated codes have become threats in plagiarism, as AI has grown in popularity, which should be investigated. In this paper, we propose a threshold selection method based on Tukey’s IQR fences. It uses a custom upper threshold derived from the statistical distribution of similarity scores for each assignment. To better accommodate skewed similarity distributions, the method introduces a simple percentile-based adjustment for determining the upper threshold. We also design prompts to generate answer codes using generative AI and apply them to four AI models. For evaluation, we used a total of 745 source codes of two datasets. The first dataset consists of 420 answer codes across 12 CWP instances from 35 first-year undergraduate students in the State Polytechnic of Malang, Indonesia (POLINEMA). The second dataset includes 325 answer codes across five CWP assignments from 65 third-year undergraduate students at Okayama University, Japan. The applications of our proposals found the following: (1) any pair of student codes whose score is higher than the selected threshold has some evidence of plagiarism, (2) some student codes have a higher similarity than the threshold with AI-generated codes, indicating the use of generative AI, and (3) multiple AI models can generate code that resembles student-written code, despite adopting different implementations. The validity of our proposal is confirmed. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Wiley Acta Medica Okayama 1687-8728 2026 1 2026 Experimental Analysis of Automatic Discrimination Performance Between Simulated Bruxism and Non‐Bruxism Under Conscious Conditions Using Electromyography and Machine Learning 7874254 EN Hajime Minakuchi Department of Oral Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Mitsuhiro Nagasaki Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Systems, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo Lộc Hoàng Đình Department of Oral Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Haruna Miki Department of Oral Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Ko Omori Department of Oral Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Tazuko Nishimura Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Systems, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo Takuo Kuboki Department of Oral Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Nobuaki Minematsu Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Systems, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the potential use of machine learning to automatically classify electromyography (EMG) data into bruxism simulated movement with tooth contact (BMwTC), bruxism simulated movement without tooth contact (BMwoTC), and non-bruxism movement (non-BM). Methods: Twelve eligible healthy participants (female/male: 2/10, mean age: 35.3 ± 8.4 years) were asked to perform the simulated movements (all the tasks were performed five times for 5 s each with a 30-s rest interval). The electrodes were placed on the masseter, infrahyoid, inframandibular, and chin muscles. A sound sensor was placed adjacent to the masseter. The EMG and sound data were sampled at 1 and 44.1 kHz, respectively. Single- and multi-stream hidden Markov models (HMMs) were used to automatically discriminate the tested behavior from the others using a hamming window with 100 ms and shift length of 50 ms. The leave-one-out method was used for training and testing the model, with data from 11 participants used for training and one for testing. Each participant was evaluated, and the final performance was measured by averaging the results of 12 classification trials. The validity of the discrimination was assessed by calculating the harmony mean values using six EMG signals and the sound data. Results: The masseter EMG demonstrated significantly higher discrimination accuracy in the single-stream model (p < 0.05, One-way ANOVA, Tukey HDS). The multi-stream model also demonstrated higher accuracy; however, no significant difference was observed. Notably, the accuracy of BMwoTC was less than 0.5. Conclusion: The machine-learning-based discriminative system accurately discriminates BMwTC from non-BM using masseter EMG. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Wiley Acta Medica Okayama 0029-6473 2026 1 2026 Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Pain Management Among Nurses in University-Affiliated Hospitals in Western Japan: A Cross-Sectional Study 9991157 EN Mengyao Xi Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University, Yuki Kajiwara Faculty of Health Sciences, Okayama University Takako Hiramatsu Department of Nursing, Kawasaki Medical School Hospital Michiko Morimoto Faculty of Health Sciences, Okayama University Background: Pain is a major global concern. Nurses’ knowledge and attitudes toward pain management are critical determinants of pain care quality and patient outcomes, making them essential for effective clinical practice. Objective: This study aimed to assess nurses’ pain management knowledge and attitudes using the Japanese version of the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (J-KASRP), applied for the first time in Japan, and to examine how background factors affect these aspects. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted with 1589 nurses in three university-affiliated hospitals in Western Japan. Data were collected using a questionnaire capturing sociodemographic information and the J-KASRP. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and effect size were used to analyze J-KASRP scores and subdomains. Tukey’s honestly significant difference test was applied for post hoc comparisons across clinical experience patterns. Results: Of 1001 respondents, 856 valid responses (85.5%) were analyzed. The mean age was 30.1 years (SD = 8.3), and the mean total correct response rate for the J-KASRP was 59.8%; only 1.3% scored ≥ 80%. Cancer-related pain had the lowest J-KASRP subdomain score (42.5%, SD = 20.3%). Higher total J-KASRP scores were found for those with a higher level of education, prior clinical pain education, and recent opioid administration experience (all p < 0.001, effect size > 0.2). In an exploratory pattern analysis, regardless of education level, respondents with both education and opioid administering experience had the highest total and pharmacology subdomains’ scores. No significant differences in cancer-related pain subdomain were observed across patterns of clinical experiences. Conclusions: This first application of the J-KASRP in Japan revealed that nurses’ pain management knowledge and attitudes need to be strengthened, especially for cancer-related pain and opioid pharmacology. The study findings highlight the importance of pain management strengthening education and training to enhance nurses’ evidence-based knowledge and clinical competence. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Tech Science Press Acta Medica Okayama 1546-2226 85 2 2025 A Spectrum Allocation and Security-Sensitive Task Offloading Algorithm in MEC Using DVS 3437 3455 EN Xianwei Li School of Computer and Information Engineering, Bengbu University Bo Wei Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Xiaoying Yang School of Information Engineering, Suzhou University Amr Tolba Computer Science and Engineering Department, College of Applied Studies, King Saud University Zijian Zeng Institute of Computer Science and Digital Innovation, UCSI University Osama Alfarraj Computer Science and Engineering Department, College of Applied Studies, King Saud University With the advancements of the next-generation communication networking and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, a variety of computation-intensive applications (e.g., autonomous driving and face recognition) have emerged. The execution of these IoT applications demands a lot of computing resources. Nevertheless, terminal devices (TDs) usually do not have sufficient computing resources to process these applications. Offloading IoT applications to be processed by mobile edge computing (MEC) servers with more computing resources provides a promising way to address this issue. While a significant number of works have studied task offloading, only a few of them have considered the security issue. This study investigates the problem of spectrum allocation and security-sensitive task offloading in an MEC system. Dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) technology is applied by TDs to reduce energy consumption and computing time. To guarantee data security during task offloading, we use AES cryptographic technique. The studied problem is formulated as an optimization problem and solved by our proposed efficient offloading scheme. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme can reduce system cost while guaranteeing data security. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Elsevier BV Acta Medica Okayama 2772-3755 11 2025 Robustness of the RGB image-based estimation for rice above-ground biomass by utilizing the dataset collected across multiple locations 100998 EN Kota Nakajima Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University Kazuki Saito International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Yasuhiro Tsujimoto Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences Toshiyuki Takai Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences Atsushi Mochizuki CHIBA Prefectural Agriculture and Forestry Research Center Tomoaki Yamaguchi Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University Ali Ibrahim Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), Regional Station for the Sahel Salifou Goube Mairoua Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) Bruce Haja Andrianary Laboratoire des Radioisotopes, Université d′Antananarivo Keisuke Katsura Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University Yu Tanaka Graduate School of Environment, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Above-ground biomass (AGB) is a critical phenotype representing crop growth. Non-invasive evaluations of AGB, including deep-learning-based red-green-blue (RGB) image analyses, are often specific to the training data. The robustness of the estimation model across untrained conditions is essential to monitor crop productivity globally, but it has yet to be fully assessed. This study aims to assess the robustness of a convolutional neural network (CNN) model for rice AGB estimation across five locations in three countries, and to demonstrate the feasibility of robust model via a practical approach. From transplanting to heading, 1957 RGB images were captured vertically downward over the rice canopy, covering approximately 1 m2. First, a base model was established using data collected from a single location. Then, its robustness was assessed using test datasets taken from the other four locations. The CNN model showed a significant variation in estimation accuracy across the untrained four locations, indicating insufficient robustness of the base model. Subsequently, we quantitatively tested the impact of improving training data diversity on model robustness by adding data from each of the four locations to the base model's training data. Adding at most 48 data points from a location achieved practical accuracy for the added location, with R2Ad above 0.8. Interestingly, adding data from one location sometimes improved the accuracy for other untrained locations as well. These findings suggest that collecting diverse training data for RGB-based estimation, combined with evaluation of robustness paves the way for on-site and instant AGB monitoring of rice. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Wiley Acta Medica Okayama 1748-3735 21 1 2025 Japanese Adult Day Service Nurses' Bathing Decisions for Persons Requiring Long‐Term Care: A Focused Ethnography e70052 EN Kanako Miyoshi Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University Keiko Mori Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University Introduction: Adult day services in Japan operate under the Long-Term Care Insurance Law, and care is provided mainly by caregivers. However, because doctors are often not on site, nurses manage the health of the person requiring long-term care. Adult day services provide bathing and functional training; however, although Japanese-style bathing relieves fatigue and brings a sense of well-being, it also entails the risk of bathing accidents for those in need of care. To continue living at home, those in need of care who have difficulty bathing at home must be provided with safe bathing during adult day services and supported in returning home safely. Nurses are responsible for accurately assessing the health status of users and implementing safe bathing. This study aimed to identify how nurses working in adult day services make bathing decisions for home-dwelling persons requiring long-term care. Method: Qualitative manifest and latent content analyses were performed using a focused ethnography. Findings: Six themes were identified: ‘gather information to compare with baseline’, ‘make observations based on information from others to understand the big picture’, ‘give persons time to get in shape’, ‘consideration of life at home’, ‘determining the need for medical institutions’ and ‘devise ways to communicate to promote collaboration’. Conclusions: Adult day service nurses' decisions about whether to bathe persons requiring care are characterised by their emphasis on information from others, consideration of the home living conditions of persons requiring care and their wishes regarding bathing. In addition, based on their observations, they determine the need for cooperation with medical institutions and communicate this information to family members and multiple professions. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Springer Science and Business Media LLC Acta Medica Okayama 2399-3669 8 1 2025 Synthesis of thienoacenes by electrochemical double C–S cyclization using a halogen mediator 366 EN Koichi Mitsudo Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Takuya Nagahara Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Nozomi Kataura Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Yuka Okamura Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Toki Yonezawa Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Yuri Tachibana Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Nolan Soulié Faculty of Science and Engineering, Sorbonne Université Keisuke Shigemori Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Eisuke Sato Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Hiroki Mandai Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gifu University of Medical Science Seiji Suga Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Thienoacenes are significant compounds as organic materials. One of the most efficient ways to synthesize thienoacenes is to form multiple C–S bonds in a single step. Because unprotected S–H bonds are easily oxidized to S–S bonds, S-Me protected substrates are commonly used for the purpose. However, their reactivity is insufficient, and one-step construction of multiple C–S bonds is still challenging. We herein report the electrochemical synthesis of thienoacenes from S-methoxymethyl (MOM)-protected diarylacetylenes. In the presence of Bu4NBr as a halogen mediator, electrochemical double C–S cyclization of diarylacetylenes bearing two MOM groups proceeded to afford [1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (BTBT) derivatives. While S-Me or S-p-methoxybenzyl (PMB)-protected diarylacetylenes did not afford BTBT, BTBT was selectively obtained when a substrate protected with S-MOM groups was used. The S-MOM protection strategy is also effective for the electrochemical synthesis of a more π-expanded thienoacene such as dibenzo[d,d′]thieno[3,2-b,4,5-b′]dithiophene (DBTDT). No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI AG Acta Medica Okayama 1999-4923 17 11 2025 Development of Propofol-Encapsulated Liposomes and the Effect of Intranasal Administration on Bioavailability in Rabbits 1446 EN Hitomi Ujita Department of Dental Anesthesiology, Okayama University Hospital Hitoshi Higuchi Department of Dental Anesthesiology, Okayama University Hospital Yukiko Nishioka Department of Dental Anesthesiology, Okayama University Hospital Saki Miyake Department of Dental Anesthesiology and Special Care Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Riko Sato Department of Dental Anesthesiology and Special Care Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Takuya Miyawaki Department of Dental Anesthesiology and Special Care Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Background/Objectives: Propofol is frequently used as an intravenous anesthetic and is rapidly metabolized. Therefore, if it could be administered non-invasively (e.g., orally) as premedication, it might hasten emergence from anesthesia, thereby improving patient safety. However, it undergoes extensive first-pass metabolism in the liver and intestines, limiting the route for premedication. We evaluated whether intranasal delivery of a propofol-encapsulated liposome solution improves systemic exposure and bioavailability in rabbits. Methods: A propofol-encapsulated liposome solution was administered to rabbits via the intravenous, oral, and intranasal routes. Blood propofol concentrations were measured for up to 60 min after administration and the area under the concentration–time curve (AUC0–60) and bioavailability of the propofol-encapsulated liposome solution were compared with those of the non-encapsulated propofol formulation. The differences were tested by two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Šidák’s post hoc multiple-comparisons test and the Mann–Whitney test (α = 0.05). Results: The AUC0–60 for blood propofol concentrations after intravenous administration was significantly higher with the propofol-encapsulated liposome solution than with the non-encapsulated propofol formulation (3038.8 ± 661.5 vs. 1929.8 ± 58.2 ng·min/mL; p = 0.0286). By contrast, no increase in blood propofol concentrations was observed after oral administration, whereas intranasal administration increased blood propofol concentrations and yielded significantly higher bioavailability compared with the non-encapsulated propofol formulation (16.4 ± 7.3% vs. 2.0 ± 1.2%; p = 0.0286). Conclusions: The findings of the present study suggest that intranasal liposomal propofol increased systemic availability compared with a non-encapsulated formulation, supporting further evaluation as a candidate premedication approach for propofol. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

IOP Publishing Acta Medica Okayama 1882-0778 18 10 2025 Multichannel topological elastic waveguide in a multilayer Kagome phononic crystal 107001 EN Yusuke Hata Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Okayama University Kenji Tsuruta Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Okayama University By examining the geometric characteristics of various boundaries formed within the Kagome phononic lattice and vertically stacking the lattices, we designed an elastic waveguide that enables selective propagation of topologically protected edge modes across layers in a bilayer system. This layer-selective transmission is manifested as polarized boundary modes that appear in phononic dispersions of the systems incorporating the bridge, zigzag, and armchair boundaries. We numerically demonstrated that efficient elastic layer converters and splitters can be designed, thereby paving the way for the practical development of three-dimensional elastic-wave devices. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Springer Science and Business Media LLC Acta Medica Okayama 1342-1751 29 5 2025 Development and validation of an algorithm for identifying patients undergoing dialysis from patients with advanced chronic kidney disease 650 661 EN Takahiro Imaizumi Department of Nephrology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine Takashi Yokota Institute of Health Science Innovation for Medical Care, Hokkaido University Hospital Kouta Funakoshi Kyusyu University Hospital Kazushi Yasuda Department of Nephrology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine Akiko Hattori Department of Nephrology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine Akemi Morohashi Department of Advanced Medicine, Nagoya University Hospital Tatsumi Kusakabe Institute of Health Science Innovation for Medical Care, Hokkaido University Hospital Masumi Shojima Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University Sayoko Nagamine Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University Toshiaki Nakano Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University Yong Huang Division of Medical Informatics, Okayama University Hospital Hiroshi Morinaga Department of Comprehensive Therapy for Chronic Kidney Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Miki Ohta Clinical Research Promotion Center, The University of Tokyo Hospital Satomi Nagashima Department of Healthcare Information Management, The University of Tokyo Hospital Ryusuke Inoue Medical Information Technology Center, Tohoku University Hospital Naoki Nakamura Medical Information Technology Center, Tohoku University Hospital Hideki Ota Medical Information Technology Center, Tohoku University Hospital Tatsuya Maruyama Clinical Research Promotion Center, The University of Tokyo Hospital Hideo Gobara Division of Medical Informatics, Okayama University Hospital Akira Endoh Department of Medical Informatics, Hokkaido University Hospital Masahiko Ando Department of Nephrology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine Yoshimune Shiratori Medical IT Center, Nagoya University Hospital Shoichi Maruyama Department of Nephrology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine Background Identifying patients on dialysis among those with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 15 mL/min/1.73 m2 remains challenging. To facilitate clinical research in advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) using electronic health records, we aimed to develop algorithms to identify dialysis patients using laboratory data obtained in routine practice. Methods We collected clinical data of patients with an eGFR < 15 mL/min/1.73 m2 from six clinical research core hospitals across Japan: four hospitals for the derivation cohort and two for the validation cohort. The candidate factors for the classification models were identified using logistic regression with stepwise backward selection. To ensure transplant patients were not included in the non-dialysis population, we excluded individuals with the disease code Z94.0. Results We collected data from 1142 patients, with 640 (56%) currently undergoing hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis (PD), including 426 of 763 patients in the derivation cohort and 214 of 379 patients in the validation cohort. The prescription of PD solutions perfectly identified patients undergoing dialysis. After excluding patients prescribed PD solutions, seven laboratory parameters were included in the algorithm. The areas under the receiver operation characteristic curve were 0.95 and 0.98 and the positive and negative predictive values were 90.9% and 91.4% in the derivation cohort and 96.2% and 94.6% in the validation cohort, respectively. The calibrations were almost linear. Conclusions We identified patients on dialysis among those with an eGFR < 15 ml/min/1.73 m2. This study paves the way for database research in nephrology, especially for patients with non-dialysis-dependent advanced CKD. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Acta Medica Okayama 2375-2548 11 38 2025 Polymeric microwave rectifiers enabled by monolayer-thick ionized donors eadv9952 EN Nobutaka Osakabe Material Innovation Research Center (MIRC) and Department of Advanced Materials Science, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo Jeongeun Her Material Innovation Research Center (MIRC) and Department of Advanced Materials Science, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo Takahiro Kaneta Material Innovation Research Center (MIRC) and Department of Advanced Materials Science, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo Akiko Tajima Material Innovation Research Center (MIRC) and Department of Advanced Materials Science, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo Elena Longhi School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics, Georgia Institute of Technology Kan Tang Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, University of Colorado Boulder Kazuhiro Fujimori Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Stephen Barlow School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics, Georgia Institute of Technology Seth R. Marder School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics, Georgia Institute of Technology Shun Watanabe Material Innovation Research Center (MIRC) and Department of Advanced Materials Science, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo Jun Takeya Material Innovation Research Center (MIRC) and Department of Advanced Materials Science, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo Yu Yamashita Material Innovation Research Center (MIRC) and Department of Advanced Materials Science, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo Solution processing of polymeric semiconductors provides a facile way to fabricate functional diodes. However, energy barriers at metal-semiconductor interfaces often limit their performance. Here, we report rectifying polymer diodes with markedly modified energy-level alignments. The gold electrode surface was treated with a dimeric metal complex, which resulted in a shallow work function of 3.7 eV by forming a monolayer-thick ionized donor layer. When a polymeric semiconductor was coated on the treated electrode, most of the ionized donors remained at the metal-semiconductor interface. The confined ionized donors with the ideal thickness enabled fabrication of a polymer diode with a forward current density of over 100 A cm−2. Furthermore, a power conversion efficiency of 7.9% was observed for rectification at a microwave frequency of 920 MHz, which is orders of magnitude higher than that reported for organic diodes. Our findings will pave a way to solution-processed high-frequency and high-power devices. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Acta Medica Okayama 2050-7488 13 35 2025 Thermally polymerizable phthalocyanine realizes a metal–nitrogen-doped carbon material featuring a defined single-atom catalyst motif with CO2RR activity 28887 28895 EN Yuki Sano Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University Daichi Nakajima Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University Biplab Manna Center for Basic Research on Materials, National Institute for Materials Science Koki Chida Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University Ryojun Toyoda Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University Shinya Takaishi Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University Kazuyuki Iwase Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University Koji Harano Center for Basic Research on Materials, National Institute for Materials Science Yuta Nishina Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Takeharu Yoshii Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University Ryota Sakamoto Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University Metal–nitrogen-doped carbon materials (MNCs) exhibit good electrocatalytic performance owing to the intrinsic advantages of carbon-based materials and the presence of isolated and stabilized metal atoms coordinated by nitrogen sites. However, conventional high-temperature pyrolysis of precursor molecules make it difficult to control the coordination structure precisely. To address this issue, here we report a new synthesis strategy for MNCs. Specifically, we design and synthesize Ni-phthalocyanine functionalized with ethynyl groups as solid-state thermal polymerization points. After depositing the Ni-phthalocyanine precursor on a carbon support and performing a thermal treatment, the resultant carbon composite material features a Ni–N4 coordination structure derived from the precursor, and enhanced porosity. This material demonstrates high catalytic activity for the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). Our synthetic approach is applicable to various precursor molecules and carbon supports, paving the way for the further development of MNC-based electrode catalysts. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI AG Acta Medica Okayama 2079-6382 13 9 2024 Unveiling a New Antimicrobial Peptide with Efficacy against P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae from Mangrove-Derived Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus NNS5-6 and Genomic Analysis 846 EN Namfa Sermkaew School of Pharmacy, Walailak University Apichart Atipairin School of Pharmacy, Walailak University Sucheewin Krobthong Center of Excellence in Natural Products Chemistry (CENP), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University Chanat Aonbangkhen Center of Excellence in Natural Products Chemistry (CENP), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University Yodying Yingchutrakul National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, National Science and Technology Development Agency Jumpei Uchiyama Department of Bacteriology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Nuttapon Songnaka School of Pharmacy, Walailak University This study focused on the discovery of the antimicrobial peptide (AMP) derived from mangrove bacteria. The most promising isolate, NNS5-6, showed the closest taxonomic relation to Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus, with the highest similarity of 74.9%. The AMP produced by Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus NNS5-6 exhibited antibacterial activity against various Gram-negative pathogens, especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The peptide sequence consisted of 13 amino acids and was elucidated as Val-Lys-Gly-Asp-Gly-Gly-Pro-Gly-Thr-Val-Tyr-Thr-Met. The AMP mainly exhibited random coil and antiparallel beta-sheet structures. The stability study indicated that this AMP was tolerant of various conditions, including proteolytic enzymes, pH (1.2–14), surfactants, and temperatures up to 40 °C for 12 h. The AMP demonstrated 4 µg/mL of MIC and 4–8 µg/mL of MBC against both pathogens. Time-kill kinetics showed that the AMP acted in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. A cell permeability assay and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the AMP exerted the mode of action by disrupting bacterial membranes. Additionally, nineteen biosynthetic gene clusters of secondary metabolites were identified in the genome. NNS5-6 was susceptible to various commonly used antibiotics supporting the primary safety requirement. The findings of this research could pave the way for new therapeutic approaches in combating antibiotic-resistant pathogens. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Elsevier BV Acta Medica Okayama 2590-1974 27 2025 Development of a technique to identify μm-sized organic matter in asteroidal material: An approach using machine learning 100277 EN Rahul Kumar The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University Katsura Kobayashi The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University Christian Potiszil The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University Tak Kunihiro The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University Asteroidal materials contain organic matter (OM), which records a number of extraterrestrial environments and thus provides a record of Solar System processes. OM contain essential compounds for the origin of life. To understand the origin and evolution of OM, systematic identification and detailed observation using in-situ techniques is required. While both nm- and μm-sized OM were studied previously, only a small portion of a given sample surface was investigated in each study. Here, a novel workflow was developed and applied to identify and classify μm-sized OM on mm-sized asteroidal materials. The workflow involved image processing and machine learning, enabling a comprehensive and non-biased way of identifying, classifying, and measuring the properties of OM. We found that identifying OM is more accurate by classification with machine learning than by clustering. On the approach of classification with machine learning, five algorithms were tested. The random forest algorithm was selected as it scored the highest in 4 out of 5 accuracy parameters during evaluation. The workflow gave modal OM abundances that were consistent with those identified manually, demonstrating that the workflow can accurately identify 1-15 μm-sized OM. The size distribution of OM was modeled using the power-law distribution, giving slope α values that were consistent with fragmentation processes. The shape of the OM was quantified using circularity and solidity, giving a positive correlation and indicating these properties are closely related. Overall, the workflow enabled identification of many OM quickly and accurately and the obtainment of chemical and petrographic information. Such information can help the selection of OM for further in-situ techniques, and elucidate the origin and evolution of OM preserved in asteroidal materials. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI AG Acta Medica Okayama 1422-0067 26 17 2025 Augmentation of the Benzyl Isothiocyanate-Induced Antiproliferation by NBDHEX in the HCT-116 Human Colorectal Cancer Cell Line 8145 EN Ruitong Sun Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University Aina Yano Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University Ayano Satoh Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University Shintaro Munemasa Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University Yoshiyuki Murata Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University Toshiyuki Nakamura Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University Yoshimasa Nakamura Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University Increased drug metabolism and elimination are prominent mechanisms mediating multidrug resistance (MDR) to not only chemotherapy drugs but also anti-cancer natural products, such as benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC). To evaluate the possibility of combined utilization of a certain compound to overcome this resistance, we focused on glutathione S-transferase (GST)-dependent metabolism of BITC. The pharmacological treatment of a pi-class GST-selective inhibitor, 6-(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-ylthio)hexanol (NBDHEX), significantly increased BITC-induced toxicity in human colorectal cancer HCT-116 cells. However, NBDHEX unexpectedly increased the level of the BITC–glutathione (GSH) conjugate as well as BITC-modified proteins, suggesting that NBDHEX might increase BITC-modified protein accumulation by inhibiting BITC–GSH excretion instead of inhibiting GST. Furthermore, NBDHEX significantly potentiated BITC-induced apoptosis with the enhanced activation of apoptosis-related pathways, such as c-Jun N-terminal kinase and caspase-3 pathways. These results suggested that combination treatment with NBDHEX may be an effective way to overcome MDR with drug efflux and thus induce the biological activity of BITC at lower doses. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Elsevier BV Acta Medica Okayama 0360-3199 140 2025 Advances in filler-crosslinked membranes for hydrogen fuel cells in sustainable energy generation 745 776 EN Aminul Islam Department of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Jashore University of Science and Technology Mamun Shahriar Department of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Jashore University of Science and Technology Md. Tarekul Islam Department of Leather Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology Siow Hwa Teo Industrial Chemistry Program, Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah M. Azizur R. Khan Department of Chemistry, Jashore University of Science and Technology Yun Hin Taufiq-Yap Catalysis Science and Technology Research Centre, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia Suman C. Mohanta Department of Chemistry, Jashore University of Science and Technology Ariyan Islam Rehan Department of Chemistry, School of Science, The University of Tokyo Adiba Islam Rasee Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University Khadiza Tul Kubra Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University Md. Munjur Hasan Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University Md. Shad Salman Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University R.M. Waliullah Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University Md. Nazmul Hasan Department of Chemistry, School of Science, The University of Tokyo Md. Chanmiya Sheikh Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Tetsuya Uchida Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Mrs Eti Awual Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University Mohammed Sohrab Hossain Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University Hussein Znad Western Australian School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering, Curtin University Md. Rabiul Awual Western Australian School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering, Curtin University Fuel cell membranes can be used in various ways to achieve zero-emission transport and energy systems, which offer a promising way to power production due to their higher efficiency compared to the internal combustion engine and the eco-environment. Perfluoro sulfonic acid membranes used for proton exchange membranes (PEMs) have certain drawbacks, like higher fuel permeability and expense, lower mechanical and chemical durability, and proton conductivity under low humidity and above 80 °C temperature. Researchers have drawn their attention to the production of polymer electrolyte membranes with higher proton conductivity, thermal and chemical resilience, maximum power density, lower fuel permeability, and lower expense. For sustainable clean energy generation, a review covering the most useful features of advanced material-associated membranes would be of great benefit to all interested communities. This paper endeavors to explore several types of novel inorganic fillers and crosslinking agents, which have been incorporated into membrane matrices to design the desired properties for an advanced fuel cell system. Membrane parameters such as proton conductivity, the ability of H2 transport, and the stability of the membrane are described. Research directions for developing fuel cell membranes are addressed based on several challenges suggested. The technological advancement of nanostructured materials for fuel cell applications is believed to significantly promote the future clean energy generation technology in practice. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Wiley Acta Medica Okayama 0020-7292 2025 Determinants of residual myometrial thickness after cesarean delivery: Comparative analysis of barbed versus conventional sutures—A sub‐analysis from the SPIRAL trial EN Jota Maki Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hikaru Ooba Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Tomohiro Mitoma Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hikari Nakato Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Ayano Suemori Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Chiaki Kuriyama Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Shujiro Sakata Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Sakurako Mishima Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Akiko Ohira Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Eriko Eto Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hisashi Masuyama Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Objective: This sub-analysis aimed to determine whether conventional suture-associated risk factors for cesarean scar defect show similar outcomes with barbed continuous suturing, and to identify factors influencing residual myometrial thickness when using barbed continuous sutures. Methods: This sub-analysis of a multicenter, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial across four Japanese obstetrics and gynecology departments included 1211 women who had their first cesarean delivery between May 2020 and March 2023. Among them, 298 women underwent a C-section, with 253 follow-up through July 2023. Singleton pregnancies were randomly assigned to receive either barbed or conventional double-layered continuous sutures in a 1:1 ratio; they were monitored from consent through their 6- to 7-month check-up. The effects of cervical ripening, facility characteristics, and surgeon experience were investigated using a two-way ANOVA. Results: Of the remaining 253 patients, 33 were lost to follow-up and 220 completed follow-up (110 per group). One institution enrolled the largest proportion of participants (45.9%), whereas two other institutions had more experienced surgeons. Two-way ANOVA revealed that surgeon experience (P = 0.020) and institutional factors (P < 0.001) significantly influenced the residual myometrial thickness at 6–7 months after surgery, whereas cervical dilation during active labor did not (P = 0.215). Additionally, a significant interaction was observed between institutional factors and suture type (barbed vs. conventional) on residual myometrial thickness (Pinteraction <0.001). Conclusion: Institutional factors and surgeon experience represent significant determinants of residual myometrial thickness when using barbed sutures for cesarean closure, highlighting the importance of standardized surgical protocols and training across facilities. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Wiley Acta Medica Okayama 1613-6810 2025 Droplet Transportation on Janus Harp Wires for Enhanced Fog Harvesting e06765 EN Yutaka Yamada Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Taku Ishikawa Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Kazuma Isobe Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Akihiko Horibe Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Ensuring freshwater resources is a vital issue for human beings worldwide. Fog harvesting is one promising way to provide water from unconventional sources. However, clogging by the captured liquid depresses the fog harvesting performance. Here, a harp-shaped Janus harvesting system, which has thin wires with a superhydrophobic side facing the fog stream and a superhydrophilic back side to transport the droplets, is used to yield simultaneous fog capturing and water transport abilities. Attached droplets on the Janus wire transported along the periphery avoided clogging and enhanced the performance. The Janus system thus suppressed the increase and fluctuations of actual shade coefficients, which indicated blockage of the fog stream. This optimized the design of the harvester. Experiments using a multilayered Janus harvester demonstrated a significant enhancement compared with that constructed with mono-wettability wires. Overall, the results indicated the promise of droplet transportation on single wires for improving fog harvesting, as well as for other applications such as oil mist recovery and demulsification. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Wiley Acta Medica Okayama 0952-3480 38 9 2025 Ultrahigh‐Field MR‐Compatible Mechanical Tactile Stimulator for Investigating Somatosensory Processing in Small‐Bodied Animals e70105 EN Chenyu Wang Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University Hirohiko Imai Innovation Research Center for Quantum Medicine, Gifu University School of Medicine Masaki Fukunaga Section of Brain Function Information, National Institute for Physiological Sciences Hiroki Yamamoto Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University Yinghua Yu Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University Kazuhiko Seki Department of Neurophysiology, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry Takashi Hanakawa Department of Integrated Neuroanatomy and Neuroimaging, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine Tatsuya Umeda Department of Integrated Neuroanatomy and Neuroimaging, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine Jiajia Yang Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), small-bodied New World primates that share similar sensory processing pathways with human beings, have gained great interests. Their small body size allows imaging of brain activity with high spatial resolution and on a whole-brain scale using ultrahigh-field (UHF) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. However, the strong magnetic field and the small size of the hand and forearm pose challenges in delivering tactile stimulation during fMRI experiments. In the present study, we developed an MR-compatible tactile dual-point stimulator to provide high-precision mechanical stimulation for exploring somatosensory processing in small-bodied animals. The study population consisted of a water phantom and three male common marmosets. Cerebral blood volume (CBV) weighted fMRI data were obtained with a gradient echo (GE), echo-planar imaging (EPI) sequence at 7T scanner. The output performance of the device was tested by a pressure sensor. The MR compatibility of the device was verified by measuring the temporal signal-to-noise ratio (tSNR) of a water phantom. To test the effectiveness of tactile stimulation, we conducted block designed tactile stimulation experiments on marmosets. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA was conducted for comparing the tSNR results. We performed one-sample t-tests to investigate the negative response of the forearm and hand stimulation with a threshold of t > 1.96 (p < 0.05). Performance tests revealed that mechanical stimulation (averaged force: 31.69 g) was applied with a delay of 12 ms. Phantom experiments confirmed that there was no significant difference in the tSNR among three (10 Hz, 1 Hz, and no-stimulus) conditions (F (2, 798) = 0.71, p = 0.49). The CBV activity results showed that the stimulator successfully elicited hand and forearm somatosensory activations in primary somatosensory areas. These results indicated that the device is well suited for small-bodied animal somatosensory studies. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI AG Acta Medica Okayama 1422-0067 26 11 2025 Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Cardiomyopathy: Advancing Disease Modeling, Therapeutic Development, and Regenerative Therapy 4984 EN Quan Duy Vo Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kazufumi Nakamura Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Yukihiro Saito Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Okayama University Hospital Satoshi Akagi Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Toru Miyoshi Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Shinsuke Yuasa Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Cardiomyopathies are a heterogeneous group of heart muscle diseases that can lead to heart failure, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death. Traditional animal models and in vitro systems have limitations in replicating the complex pathology of human cardiomyopathies. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer a transformative platform by enabling the generation of patient-specific cardiomyocytes, thus opening new avenues for disease modeling, drug discovery, and regenerative therapy. This process involves reprogramming somatic cells into iPSCs and subsequently differentiating them into functional cardiomyocytes, which can be characterized using techniques such as electrophysiology, contractility assays, and gene expression profiling. iPSC-derived cardiomyocyte (iPSC-CM) platforms are also being explored for drug screening and personalized medicine, including high-throughput testing for cardiotoxicity and the identification of patient-tailored therapies. While iPSC-CMs already serve as valuable models for understanding disease mechanisms and screening drugs, ongoing advances in maturation and bioengineering are bringing iPSC-based therapies closer to clinical application. Furthermore, the integration of multi-omics approaches and artificial intelligence (AI) is enhancing the predictive power of iPSC models. iPSC-based technologies are paving the way for a new era of personalized cardiology, with the potential to revolutionize the management of cardiomyopathies through patient-specific insights and regenerative strategies. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Springer Science and Business Media LLC Acta Medica Okayama 2168-8184 17 6 2025 Managing Persistent Pupillary Membranes With Surgery or Medication: A Report of Three Cases e86695 EN Toshihiko Matsuo Division of Healthcare Science, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University Takehiro Tanaka Department of Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University The persistent pupillary membrane, as a congenital anomaly, is a remnant of a network of feeding blood vessels for the lens of the eye, called tunica vasculosa lentis. This study reports three patients with persistent pupillary membrane in both eyes who presented in different situations and were managed differently to achieve better vision. The first child (Case 1) who had been seen initially at the age of two years complained of severe photophobia even though he had good visual acuity, and hence, he and his family chose surgical resection of the pupillary membrane in both eyes at the age of six years just before the admission to an elementary school. He did not develop any surgical complications, such as cataract and glaucoma, and maintained the visual acuity in decimals of 1.2 in both eyes at the age of 17 years. The second child (Case 2), who was seen first at the age of one month, had persistent pupillary membranes in both eyes, together with Peters' anomaly in the left eye. The iris process adhesion to the corneal inner surface was visualized later by optical coherence tomography. She wore full-correction glasses and obtained the visual acuity of 0.7 in the right eye, so she had no problem studying at an elementary school. She used topical 1% atropine once a week in both eyes to maintain pupillary dilation and also used 0.5% timolol and 1% brinzolamide as pressure-lowering eye drops in the left eye with Peters' anomaly. The third patient (Case 3) with persistent pupillary membranes in both eyes complained of vision problems for the first time at the age of 49 years when she developed cataract. Surgical resection of the pupillary membrane was done in the initial phase of cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation in both eyes. At surgical resection of the pupillary membrane, a safe and efficient way was to cut the root of the pupillary membrane on the iris surface with scissors, and then the isolated tissues of the pupillary membrane were pulled out with forceps from the side port at the corneal limbus. Pathological examinations of the excised tissues showed blood vessels with red blood cells in the lumen. In such a rare congenital disease as the persistent pupillary membrane, a case-based approach to choose a better option in different conditions from individual to individual is still required to have a better vision in learning at school and in daily working life. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) Acta Medica Okayama 1600-5767 58 3 2025 Enhanced estimation method for partial scattering functions in contrast variation small-angle neutron scattering via Gaussian process regression with prior knowledge of smoothness 976 991 EN Ippei Obayashi Center for Artificial Intelligence and Mathematical Data Science, Okayama University Shinya Miyajima Faculty of Science and Engineering, Iwate University Kazuaki Tanaka Global Center for Science and Engineering, Waseda University Koichi Mayumi Institute for Solid State Physics, University of Tokyo Contrast variation small-angle neutron scattering (CV-SANS) is a powerful tool for evaluating the structure of multi-component systems. In CV-SANS, the scattering intensities I(Q) measured with different scattering contrasts are decomposed into partial scattering functions S(Q) of the self- and cross-correlations between components. Since the measurement has a measurement error, S(Q) must be estimated statistically from I(Q). If no prior knowledge about S(Q) is available, the least-squares method is best, and this is the most popular estimation method. However, if prior knowledge is available, the estimation can be improved using Bayesian inference in a statistically authorized way. In this paper, we propose a novel method to improve the estimation of S(Q), based on Gaussian process regression using prior knowledge about the smoothness and flatness of S(Q). We demonstrate the method using synthetic core–shell and experimental polyrotaxane SANS data. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Nature Portfolio Acta Medica Okayama 2041-1723 16 1 2025 A mini-hairpin shaped nascent peptide blocks translation termination by a distinct mechanism 2323 EN Yushin Ando Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo Akinao Kobo School of Life Science and Technology, Institute of Science Tokyo Tatsuya Niwa School of Life Science and Technology, Institute of Science Tokyo Ayako Yamakawa School of Life Science and Technology, Institute of Science Tokyo Suzuna Konoma School of Life Science and Technology, Institute of Science Tokyo Yuki Kobayashi School of Life Science and Technology, Institute of Science Tokyo Osamu Nureki Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo Hideki Taguchi School of Life Science and Technology, Institute of Science Tokyo Yuzuru Itoh Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo Yuhei Chadani Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Protein synthesis by ribosomes produces functional proteins but also serves diverse regulatory functions, which depend on the coding amino acid sequences. Certain nascent peptides interact with the ribosome exit tunnel to arrest translation and modulate themselves or the expression of downstream genes. However, a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of such ribosome stalling and its regulation remains elusive. In this study, we systematically screen for unidentified ribosome arrest peptides through phenotypic evaluation, proteomics, and mass spectrometry analyses, leading to the discovery of the arrest peptides PepNL and NanCL in E. coli. Our cryo-EM study on PepNL reveals a distinct arrest mechanism, in which the N-terminus of PepNL folds back towards the tunnel entrance to prevent the catalytic GGQ motif of the release factor from accessing the peptidyl transferase center, causing translation arrest at the UGA stop codon. Furthermore, unlike sensory arrest peptides that require an arrest inducer, PepNL uses tryptophan as an arrest inhibitor, where Trp-tRNATrp reads through the stop codon. Our findings illuminate the mechanism and regulatory framework of nascent peptide-induced translation arrest, paving the way for exploring regulatory nascent peptides. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学大学院社会文化科学研究科 Acta Medica Okayama 1881-1671 59 2025 稲盛和夫のフィロソフィーと西郷南洲翁遺訓及び日新公いろは歌の連関についての考察 25 44 EN Hisashi MACHIDA 10.18926/68539 　一代で京セラやKDDIの前身となる第二電電（DDI）を創業し、合計数兆円企業に育て、倒産した日本航空（JAL）を3年で再建し、再上場に導いた稀代の経営者稲盛和夫は、アメーバ経営という独自の経営手法だけでなく、理念経営により数万人を導いてきた。中小企業の一経営者が経営の中から導き出した人生成功の処世術のルーツは何処にあるのか。生まれ育った薩摩の基礎となる郷中（ごじゅう）教育とは何か、などについて経営学の観点から関心が湧く。 　稲盛和夫が京セラ創業以降に出会い、自ら経営理念の基礎とした地元の偉人である西郷隆盛の言行録である西郷南洲翁遺訓及び16世紀に薩摩や日向など南九州を統一した島津家第15代領主島津貴久公の実父島津忠良（日新）が残した、島津日新公いろは歌とどのように連関があるのか。そもそも薩摩生まれの3名の思想にどのような連関があるのか、についても関心が湧く。この研究では、質的研究法であるグラウンデッド・セオリー・アプローチを援用して、稲盛和夫のフィロソフィーと西郷南洲翁遺訓及び日新公いろは歌の連関について分析した。結果的に3つの概念は400年の時代を超えて、連関していることが分析により明らかになった。特に稲盛和夫のフィロソフィーが稲盛和夫が敬愛する西郷隆盛の言行録である西郷南洲翁遺訓に正の影響を受けているだけでなく、薩摩での教育を背景に、400年前に遡る日新公いろは歌からも正の影響を受けていることが明らかになった。400年に渡り薩摩の人々が受け継いできた理念には、時代を超えても人が生きていく中で基礎とすべき、もしくは人生で重要なコアな思想・資質とすべき概念があると考えられる。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 79 1 2025 Could the Trabecular Bone Score Be a Complementary Tool for Evaluating Degenerative Lumbar Vertebrae? 39 45 EN Shinichiro Takao Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Koji Uotani Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Haruo Misawa Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Tomoko Tetsunaga Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kensuke Shinohara Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kentaro Yamane Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Yoshiaki Oda Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hironori Tsuji Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Yuya Kajiki Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Toshifumi Ozaki Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Original Article 10.18926/AMO/68360 Evaluating vertebral bone mass and quality in the elderly poses challenges due to degenerative changes. This study aims to elucidate the usefulness of the trabecular bone score (TBS) by examining the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD), TBS, and Hounsfield unit (HU) values. A retrospective analysis of 599 vertebrae from 152 patients (mean age 69.0 years; range 44-89; 74 males and 78 females) undergoing dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and CT scans was conducted. Vertebrae were categorized into three grades based on the degree of degeneration. The TBS was calculated from DXA images, and the HU value was measured by placing a region of interest on an axial image of the vertebral mid-body. One-way analysis of variance and Pearson’s correlation tests were employed to investigate the relationship between BMD and TBS or HU values. While lumbar BMD significantly increased (p<0.01) with degenerative changes, TBS and HU values showed no significant differences. The correlations between lumbar BMD and TBS values, and between BMD and HU values, were stronger without degenerative changes than with degenerative changes. Significantly different HU values were observed between the right and left sides of severely degenerated vertebrae. Severe degenerative changes, particularly those associated with sclerosis, may impact HU values. TBS exhibits greater potential than HU values as a complementary tool. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 79 1 2025 Endothelial Cell Polarity in Health and Disease 1 7 EN Moe Thiha Department of Pathophysiology and Drug Discovery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Takao Hikita Department of Pathophysiology and Drug Discovery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Masanori Nakayama Department of Pathophysiology and Drug Discovery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Review 10.18926/AMO/68353 Endothelial cell polarity is fundamental to the organization and function of blood vessels, influencing processes such as angiogenesis, vascular stability, and response to shear stress. This review elaborates on the molecular mechanisms that regulate endothelial cell polarity, focusing on key players like the PAR polarity complex and Rho family GTPases. These pathways coordinate the front–rear, apical–basal and planar polarity of endothelial cells, which are essential for the proper formation and maintenance of vascular structures. In health, endothelial polarity ensures not only the orderly development of blood vessels, with tip cells adopting distinct polarities during angiogenesis, but also ensures proper vascular integrity and function. In disease states, however, disruptions in polarity contribute to pathologies such as coronary artery disease, where altered planar polarity exacerbates atherosclerosis, and cancer, where disrupted polarity in tumor vasculature leads to abnormal vessel growth and function. Understanding cell polarity and its disruption is fundamental not only to comprehending how cells interact with their microenvironment and organize themselves into complex, organ-specific tissues but also to developing novel, targeted, and therapeutic strategies for a range of diseases, from cardiovascular disorders to malignancies, ultimately improving patient outcomes. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Wiley Acta Medica Okayama 2197-1153 12 1 2025 The use of lateral wedge insoles delays osteoarthritis progression and improves clinical outcomes in medial meniscus posterior root repair e70141 EN Koki Kawada Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences Yusuke Yokoyama Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences Yuki Okazaki Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences Masanori Tamura Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences Toshifumi Ozaki Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences Takayuki Furumatsu Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences Purpose: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the efficacy of using a lateral wedge insole (LWI) during the first 3 months after medial meniscus posterior root (MMPR) repair. Methods: Overall, 179 patients were categorized into LWI use (LWI group, 90 patients) and nonuse (control group, 89 patients) groups. Patients in the LWI group were instructed to wear an LWI from the initiation of load bearing up to 3 months postoperatively. Medial meniscus extrusion (MME) was evaluated preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively, Kellgren–Lawrence (KL) grade and clinical scores were evaluated preoperatively and 2 years postoperatively, and second-look arthroscopic meniscal healing scores were evaluated at 1 year postoperatively. Results: The proportion of patients with KL grade progression at 2 years postoperatively was significantly lower in the LWI group than in the control group (23.3% vs. 39.3%; p = 0.024). Change in the MME at 1 year postoperatively was significantly smaller in the LWI group than in the control group (1.1 ± 1.2 vs. 1.6 ± 1.4 mm; p = 0.042). The Lysholm score (p = 0.003) and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores-sport and recreation function (p = 0.027) at 2 years postoperatively were significantly superior in the LWI group than in the control group. The arthroscopic meniscal healing score after 1 year was not significantly different between the LWI and control groups (total score, 7.6 ± 1.1 vs. 7.4 ± 1.3 points; p = 0.732). The anteroposterior width of the repaired posterior root at 1 year second-look evaluation was significantly broader in the LWI group than in the control group (7.7 ± 1.6 vs. 6.9 ± 1.6 mm; p = 0.001). Conclusions: The use of LWI is an effective way to delay postoperative osteoarthritis progression and improve clinical outcomes after MMPR repair. Level of Evidence: Level III. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学文明動態学研究所 Acta Medica Okayama 2436-8326 4 2025 内藤直樹・森明子編『寄食という生き方―埒外の政治‐経済の人類学』 300 302 EN Mikako SAWAYAMA 新刊紹介 (New Book) 10.18926/67967 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学大学院教育学研究科 Acta Medica Okayama 1883-2423 187 2024 指揮状況の違いによる音響特性の比較と演奏の印象調査の検討 53 67 EN Masako MUSHIAKI Faculty of Education, Okayama University Takefumi ZAIMA Technical Research &Development Institute, Kumagaigumi Co., Ltd. Masanao OWAKI Technical Research &Development Division, Kumagaigumi Co., Ltd. 10.18926/bgeou/67894 　筆者等は，音楽授業での指揮状況を向上させる方策として，授業での教員の立ち位置と指揮の仕方に注目した。異なる立ち位置と異なる指揮の仕方で演奏した場合，各々の演奏が音響学的にどのように変化するのか音カメラ装置で測定した。併せて，各々の演奏に対して受講学生の印象調査を行った。音響特性から，指揮の仕方によって，音節が明瞭になること（スペクトログラムの濃さ），ビブラートに変化が見られること（「ゆれ」の表れ），音量が変化すること（音圧レベル），音価が異なってくること（時間軸波形）が示された。印象調査からは，指揮者が，ピアノの位置で指揮をするのに比べて，合唱者の前で指揮をすることで，アゴーギク，ディナーミック，表現の豊かさに対する演奏の評価が大きく反転した。指揮の仕方では，形式的な指揮に比べて，音楽的な要素を入れた指揮をすると，アゴーギク，ディナーミック，息の流れの演奏評価が高くなった。さらに，音響特性と音楽表現との関連性が視覚的に確認され，特に，「ゆれ」（ビブラート）の頻出は，音楽表現を豊かにすることが示された。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学大学院教育学研究科 Acta Medica Okayama 1883-2423 187 2024 敵対性と節合により社会を創造する芸術実践の文献研究 35 42 EN Shuya OHIRA Faculty of Education, Okayama University 10.18926/bgeou/67892 　This study, using literature, explores the theory of socially engaged art, along with formative activities that feature elements of socially engaged art that contribute to the realization of an educational curriculum that is open to society. This study clarified the effects of the formative activities. Therefore, the theory of socially engaged art encompasses antagonism, an experience that changes how one views, feels, and thinks about children and others, and articulation, which creates or reshapes the relationship between children and others. A literature survey revealed that emotional experiences that change the way children and others see, feel, and think can lead to a reshaping of existing relationships between children and others, as well as the formation of new relationships between children and others. This study demonstrated the effects of formative activity creating social aspects by doing things. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Acta Medica Okayama 2644-1284 5 2024 Skewing Technology for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors: A Comprehensive Review and Recent Trends 1251 1273 EN Ren Tsunata Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Masatsugu Takemoto Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University This article gives a comprehensive overview of the current research trends in the skewing technique for permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs). The skewing technique has been widely used in many applications to reduce the cogging torque and torque ripple in PMSMs. There are many ways to implement the skew, and new techniques are continually being developed. First, this article summarizes the types of skew structures and presents a survey of existing techniques. Specific emphasis is placed on what kind of skew structure is selected depending on the PMSM configuration. Second, the optimal value of the skew angle for each structure is comprehensively explained, and the discrepancy between theory and finite element analysis is discussed. The definition of skew angle varies across the literature, and one of the purposes of this article is to organize the definition in an easy-to-understand manner. In addition, this article offers three-dimensional finite element analysis (3D-FEA) results of various PMSMs employing the skew for quantitative comparison. Then, this article discusses the properties of PMSMs using the skew by structure and the latest trends, and finally describes future prospects. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 78 6 2024 C-arm Free Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic Discectomy: A Technical Note 475 483 EN Hongfei Xiang Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama Rosai Hospital Kajetan Latka Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama Rosai Hospital Praful Maste Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama Rosai Hospital Masato Tanaka Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama Rosai Hospital Chetan Kumawat Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama Rosai Hospital Shinya Arataki Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama Rosai Hospital Yoshihiro Fujiwara Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama Rosai Hospital Takuya Taoka Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama Rosai Hospital Akiyoshi Miyamoto Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Okayama Rosai Hospital Case Report 10.18926/AMO/67878 This report presents a new unilateral biportal endoscopic (UBE) technique for lumbar disc herniation without C-arm guidance. Lumbar disc herniation requires surgical intervention when conservative methods fail. Shifts towards minimally invasive percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy, including uniportal and biportal approaches, have been hindered by challenges such as steep learning curves and reliance on radiation-intensive C-arm guidance. We here describe the use of standard intraoperative navigation in UBE to reduce radiation exposure and increase surgical accuracy. A 24-year-old man with low back and bilateral leg pain with gait disturbance was referred to our hospital. He had had conservative treatment for 12 months in another hospital before admission, but this proved unsuccessful. On admission he had low back pain (VAS 4/10) and bilateral leg pain (VAS 8/10), muscle weakness of the bilateral legs (manual muscle testing (MMT) grade of the extensor hallucis longus: 4/4), and numbness of the bilateral lower legs. Preoperative lumbar MRI showed L4/5 large central disc herniation. He underwent C-arm free UBE discectomy under the guidance of O-arm navigation. The surgery was successful, with postoperative lumbar MRI showing good decompression of the dural sac and bilateral L5 nerve roots. The MMT grade and sensory function of both legs had recovered fully on final follow-up at one year. The new UBE technique under navigation guidance was shown to be useful for lumbar disc herniation. This innovative technique was safe and accurate for the treatment of lumbar intervertebral disc herniation, and minimized radiation exposure to surgeons. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2024 A Study of Java Answer Code Validation Program and JavaScript Code Modification Problems EN KHAING HSU WAI Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama university No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Oxford University Press (OUP) Acta Medica Okayama 0032-0889 193 3 2023 Calredoxin regulates the chloroplast NADPH-dependent thioredoxin reductase in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 2122 2140 EN Karen Zinzius Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster Giulia Maria Marchetti Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster Ronja Fischer Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster Yuval Milrad School of Plant Sciences and Food Security, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University Anne Oltmanns Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster Simon Kelterborn Institute of Biology, Experimental Biophysics, Humboldt University of Berlin Iftach Yacoby School of Plant Sciences and Food Security, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University Peter Hegemann Institute of Biology, Experimental Biophysics, Humboldt University of Berlin Martin Scholz Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster Michael Hippler Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University Calredoxin (CRX) is a calcium (Ca2+)-dependent thioredoxin (TRX) in the chloroplast of Chlamydomonas (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) with a largely unclear physiological role. We elucidated the CRX functionality by performing in-depth quantitative proteomics of wild-type cells compared with a crx insertional mutant (IMcrx), two CRISPR/Cas9 KO mutants, and CRX rescues. These analyses revealed that the chloroplast NADPH-dependent TRX reductase (NTRC) is co-regulated with CRX. Electron transfer measurements revealed that CRX inhibits NADPH-dependent reduction of oxidized chloroplast 2-Cys peroxiredoxin (PRX1) via NTRC and that the function of the NADPH-NTRC complex is under strict control of CRX. Via non-reducing SDS-PAGE assays and mass spectrometry, our data also demonstrated that PRX1 is more oxidized under high light (HL) conditions in the absence of CRX. The redox tuning of PRX1 and control of the NADPH-NTRC complex via CRX interconnect redox control with active photosynthetic electron transport and metabolism, as well as Ca2+ signaling. In this way, an economic use of NADPH for PRX1 reduction is ensured. The finding that the absence of CRX under HL conditions severely inhibited light-driven CO2 fixation underpins the importance of CRX for redox tuning, as well as for efficient photosynthesis. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

九州工業大学ケアXDXセンター Acta Medica Okayama 2759-2871 2024 1 2024 Abacus Manipulation Understanding by Behavior Sensing Utilizing Document Camera as a Sensor 2 EN Yuki MATSUDA Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology Okayama University 　The abacus (also known as Soroban) is a numerical calculation tool that is traditionally used in East Asian countries. With the advancement of information technologies, the abacus is no longer used as a standard calculation tool. However, abacus learning is garnering global attention due to the secondary skills it can foster, e.g., mental arithmetic ability. Numerical calculation using an abacus requires learning numerical expressions using the beads of the abacus and manipulating beads in multiple ways and in different orders. Due to this complexity, a long period of repeated learning is usually required to acquire the skill of using the abacus. However, the teaching method of the abacus mainly relied on lecturers' observation through finding errors and poor bead manipulations and pointing them out, and there is no other way but to rely on human labor at this moment. In this study, we aim to realize an ICT-based learning support system for arithmetic with a common abacus. This paper proposes a method of estimating input values on an abacus based on image recognition captured by a document camera. Through the evaluation experiments, we have confirmed that the proposed method showed an accuracy of 95.0% in the estimation of 7-digit number input on an abacus. Additionally, this paper will provide discussions to realize the proposed method with other cameras such as wearable camera devices, and to design the coaching system of abacus learning. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Acta Medica Okayama 2169-3536 12 2024 Aromug: A Mug-Type Olfactory Interface to Enhance the Sweetness Perception of Beverages 78366 78378 EN Daiki Mayumi Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology Yugo Nakamura Faculty of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, Kyushu University Yuki Matsuda Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Shinya Misaki Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology Keiichi Yasumoto Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology Sugary beverages are a significant contributor to sugar consumption, and their excessive consumption is associated with increased risks of elevated blood glucose levels and diabetes. Many individuals have a strong preference for sugary beverages and often find beverages with lower sugar content to be less satisfying. Attempts to switch to less sugary options are frequently short-lived, leading to a return to higher-sugar beverages. Recognizing that 75 – 95% of taste perception is influenced by scent, we investigated a scent-based approach to reduce sugar intake while preserving the perception of sweetness. This study introduces an olfactory interface in the form of a mug named “Aromug,” designed to emit a sweet scent in sync with the drinking action. Aromug incorporates motion sensing and scent presentation functions to enhance the perceived sweetness of a beverage, thereby encouraging a gradual reduction in sugar intake. Our experiments, involving 33 participants, demonstrated that the combined scents of sugar-free coffee and chocolate increased the perception of sweetness (p =1.641×10−2 ). The study also found that the simultaneous presentation of scent and visual cues improved taste satisfaction and sweetness perception. Additionally, we observed variations in sweetness preference related to age and frequency of coffee consumption. It was particularly observed that people in their 20s and those who frequently drink coffee tend to perceive the taste of beverages as sweeter. This suggests a potential for Aromug to customize the scent experience based on individual preferences, offering a novel way to encourage healthier beverage choices. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI Acta Medica Okayama 2078-2489 15 10 2024 An Independent Learning System for Flutter Cross-Platform Mobile Programming with Code Modification Problems 614 EN Safira Adine Kinari Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Nobuo Funabiki Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Soe Thandar Aung Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Khaing Hsu Wai Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Mustika Mentari Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Pradini Puspitaningayu Department of Electrical Engineering, Universitas Negeri Surabaya Nowadays, with the common use of smartphones in daily lives, mobile applications have become popular around the world, which will lead to a rise in Flutter framework. Developed by Google, Flutter with Dart programming provides a cross-platform development environment to create visually appealing and responsive user interfaces across mobile, web, and desktop platforms using a single codebase. However, due to time and staff limitations, the Flutter/Dart programming course is not included in curricula, even in IT departments in universities. Therefore, independent learning environments for students are essential to meet this growing popularity. Previously, we have developed programming learning assistant system (PLAS) as a web-browser-based self-learning platform for novice students. PLAS offers various types of exercise problems designed to cultivate programming skills step-by-step through a lot of code reading and code writing practices. Among them, one particular type is the code modification problem (CMP), which asks to modify the given source code to satisfy the new specifications. CMP is expected to be solved by novices with little effort if they have knowledge of other programming languages. Thus, PLAS with CMP will be an excellent platform for independent learning. In this paper, we present PLAS with CMP for the independent learning of Flutter/Dart programming. To improve the readability of the source code by students, we provided rich comments on grammar or behaviors. Besides, the code can be downloaded so that students can check and run it on an IDE. For evaluations, we generated 38 CMP instances for basic and multimedia/storage topics in Flutter/Dart programming and assigned them to 21 master students at Okayama University, Japan, who have never studied it. The results confirm the validity of the proposal. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Acta Medica Okayama 2169-3536 12 2024 MUSIC Spectrum Based Interference Detection, Localization, and Interference Arrival Prediction for mmWave IRS-MIMO System 142592 142605 EN Yafei Hou Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Kazuto Yano Wave Engineering Laboratories, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International Norisato Suga Wave Engineering Laboratories, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International Julian Webber Wave Engineering Laboratories, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International Satoshi Denno Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Toshikazu Sakano Wave Engineering Laboratories, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International For a millimeter wave (mmWave) intelligent re-configurable surface (IRS)-MIMO system, if it can correctly detect the interference occurrence and their locations, the patterns of interference signal can be collected and learned using machine learning for the prediction of interference arrival. With the information of interference location and activity pattern, the capacity of the system can be largely improved using many techniques such as beamforming, interference cancellation, and transmission scheduling. This paper aims to detect interference occurrence using a low-complexity MUSIC (MUSIC: multiple signal classification) spectrum-based method, and then localize their sources for mmWave IRS-MIMO system. The MUSIC spectrum of wireless system can be regarded as somehow the 'signature' related to the signals transmitted from different users or interference. We utilize such property to detect the occurrence of interference, and then localize their sources in a low-complexity way. Finally, the pattern of interference occurrence can be learned to predict the interference arrival from the collected data. This paper also proposed an efficient probabilistic neural network (PNN)-based predictor for the interference arrival prediction and showed its prediction accuracy. From simulated results, our proposed method can achieve the correct results with the accuracy near to 100% when the fingerprint samples is over 10. In addition, the localization error can be within 1 m with more than 65% and 43% for Y-axis and X-axis, respectively. Finally, based on the results of the interference occurrence, the proposed PNN-based predictor for the interference arrival prediction can capture correctly the similar distribution function of the coming continuous idle status. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI Acta Medica Okayama 2078-2489 15 8 2024 An Image-Based User Interface Testing Method for Flutter Programming Learning Assistant System 464 EN Soe Thandar Aung Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Nobuo Funabiki Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Lynn Htet Aung Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Safira Adine Kinari Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Khaing Hsu Wai Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Mustika Mentari Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Flutter has become popular for providing a uniform development environment for user interfaces (UIs) on smart phones, web browsers, and desktop applications. We have developed the Flutter programming learning assistant system (FPLAS) to assist its novice students' self-study. We implemented the Docker-based Flutter environment with Visual Studio Code and three introductory exercise projects. However, the correctness of students' answers is manually checked, although automatic checking is necessary to reduce teachers' workload and provide quick responses to students. This paper presents an image-based user interface (UI) testing method to automate UI testing by the answer code using the Flask framework. This method produces the UI image by running the answer code and compares it with the image made by the model code for the assignment using ORB and SIFT algorithms in the OpenCV library. One notable aspect is the necessity to capture multiple UI screenshots through page transitions by user input actions for the accurate detection of changes in UI elements. For evaluations, we assigned five Flutter exercise projects to fourth-year bachelor and first-year master engineering students at Okayama University, Japan, and applied the proposed method to their answers. The results confirm the effectiveness of the proposal. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 78 4 2024 Multicenter Remote-Access Simulation of Vaginal Delivery for High-Flexibility Medical Education during the Coronavirus Pandemic 313 322 EN Eriko Eto Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Jota Maki Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Noriyuki Yamashita Center for Education in Medicine and Health Sciences, Okayama University Toru Hasegawa Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Ayano Suemori Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hikari Nakato Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hikaru Oba Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Tomohiro Mitoma Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Sakurako Mishima Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Satoe Kirino Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Akiko Ohira Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hisashi Masuyama Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Original Article 10.18926/AMO/67547 During the coronavirus pandemic, face-to-face simulation education became impossible. Therefore, we aimed to develop remote-access simulation education with a sense of realism through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) using a perinatal whole-body management and delivery simulator. In September 2021, we administered a multi-center simultaneous remote simulation based on our developed model. Ten universities in the Chugoku–Shikoku region were connected via a web-conferencing system to a live broadcast of a virtual vaginal birth in which a fictional hospitalized pregnant woman experienced accelerated labor and gave birth through vacuum delivery for fetal distress. A Video on Demand (VOD) was made beforehand using a new simulator that allowed for a visual understanding of the process of the inter-vaginal examination. We provided a participatory program that enhanced the sense of realism by combining VOD and real-time lectures on each scenario, with two-way communication between participants and trainee doctors using a chat function. Most participants answered “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the content, level of difficulty, and level of understanding. From November 2021, we have used the videos of all processes in face-to-face classes. Our construction of a high-flexibility education system using remote simulation in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, especially in the vaginal delivery module, is unique, creative, and sustainable. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI Acta Medica Okayama 2079-9292 13 14 2024 A Reference Paper Collection System Using Web Scraping 2700 EN Inzali Naing Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Soe Thandar Aung Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Khaing Hsu Wai Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Nobuo Funabiki Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Collecting reference papers from the Internet is one of the most important activities for progressing research and writing papers about their results. Unfortunately, the current process using Google Scholar may not be efficient, since a lot of paper files cannot be accessed directly by the user. Even if they are accessible, their effectiveness needs to be checked manually. In this paper, we propose a reference paper collection system using web scraping to automate paper collections from websites. This system can collect or monitor data from the Internet, which is considered as the environment, using Selenium, a popular web scraping software, as the sensor; this examines the similarity against the search target by comparing the keywords using the Bert model. The Bert model is a deep learning model for natural language processing (NLP) that can understand context by analyzing the relationships between words in a sentence bidirectionally. The Python Flask is adopted at the web application server, where Angular is used for data presentations. For the evaluation, we measured the performance, investigated the accuracy, and asked members of our laboratory to use the proposed method and provide their feedback. Their results confirm the method’s effectiveness. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Royal Society of Chemistry Acta Medica Okayama 2041-6520 15 32 2024 Boosting charge separation in organic photovoltaics: unveiling dipole moment variations in excited non-fullerene acceptor layers 12686 12694 EN Akira Yamakata Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Kosaku Kato Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Takumi Urakami Department of Molecular Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University Sota Tsujimura Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University Kasumi Murayama Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University Masahiro Higashi Department of Complex Systems Science, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University Hirofumi Sato Department of Molecular Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University Yasuhiro Kobori Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University Tomokazu Umeyama Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Hyogo Hiroshi Imahori Department of Molecular Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) has reached more than 19% due to the rapid development of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs). To compete with the PCEs (26%) of commercialized silicon-based inorganic photovoltaics, the drawback of OPVs should be minimized. This drawback is the intrinsic large loss of open-circuit voltage; however, a general approach to this issue remains elusive. Here, we report a discovery regarding highly efficient NFAs, specifically ITIC. We found that charge-transfer (CT) and charge dissociation (CD) can occur even in a neat ITIC film without the donor layer. This is surprising, as these processes were previously believed to take place exclusively at donor/acceptor heterojunctions. Femtosecond time-resolved visible to mid-infrared measurements revealed that in the neat ITIC layers, the intermolecular CT immediately proceeds after photoirradiation (<0.1 ps) to form weakly-bound excitons with a binding energy of 0.3 eV, which are further dissociated into free electrons and holes with a time-constant of 56 ps. Theoretical calculations indicate that stacking faults in ITIC (i.e., V-type molecular stacking) induce instantaneous intermolecular CT and CD in the neat ITIC layer. In contrast, J-type stacking does not support such CT and CD. This previously unknown pathway is triggered by the larger dipole moment change on the excited state generated at the lower symmetric V-type molecular stacking of ITIC. This is in sharp contrast with the need of sufficient energy offset for CT and CD at the donor-acceptor heterojunction, leading to the significant voltage loss in conventional OPVs. These results demonstrate that the rational molecular design of NFAs can increase the local dipole moment change on the excited state within the NFA layer. This finding paves the way for a groundbreaking route toward the commercialization of OPVs. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Hindawi Acta Medica Okayama 2090-8113 2024 2024 Circadian Rhythms Fluctuate the Treatment Effects of Intravesical Treatments on Rat Urinary Frequency Models 6505595 EN Tomofumi Watanabe Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Takuya Sadahira Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Yusuke Tominaga Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Yuki Maruyama Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Naoya Nagasaki Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Takanori Sekito Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kohei Edamura Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Toyohiko Watanabe Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Motoo Araki Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Masami Watanabe Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Objectives. It is still not clear how the intravesical instillation of drugs affects rat urinary frequency. This study aimed to examine the dynamics of intravesical treatments' treatment effect on rat urinary frequency models by real-time and extended monitoring using a novel continuous urination monitoring system. Methods. Nine eleven-week-old female Wistar rats were divided into three groups to receive intravesical instillation of 0.1% acetic acid (AA), 1.0% AA, or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Thirty minutes later, these drugs were voided, and rats were moved to a continuous urination monitoring system, UM-100. UM-100 monitored rat urination quantitatively and continuously for 24 hours. Rats were then euthanized, and histopathologic examinations using a damage score validated the severity of bladder inflammation. We used nine additional rats to determine the treatment effect of various drugs against the urinary frequency. These rats were also treated with 1.0% AA in the same way and divided into three groups (n = 3 each) to receive intravesical instillation of lidocaine, silver nitrate (AgNO3), or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), respectively. Thirty minutes later, rats were catheterized again and moved to the UM-100, and their voiding was monitored for 24 hours. Results. Intravesical instillation of AA increased the urinary frequency and decreased the mean voided volume (VV) in a concentration-dependent manner, with statistical significance at a concentration of 1.0% (urinary frequency; p = 0.0007 , mean VV; p = 0.0032 , respectively) compared with PBS. Histopathological analysis of these models demonstrated a significantly higher damage score of bladder mucosa in both 0.1% AA and 1.0% AA compared with PBS, with the severity in concordance with the clinical severity of urinary frequency (0.1% AA: p < 0.0001 , 1.0% AA: p < 0.0001 ). Moreover, intravesical instillation of lidocaine, AgNO3, and DMSO decreased the urinary frequency. Continuous monitoring with UM-100 also demonstrated that the treatment effect of these intravesically instilled drugs occurred only at night. Conclusions. The extended monitoring of rat urination by UM-100 revealed a significant fluctuation in the treatment effect of intravesically instilled drugs between day and night. These findings may help establish novel therapies for urinary frequency. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Public Library of Science Acta Medica Okayama 1932-6203 19 5 2024 The use of artificial intelligence in induced pluripotent stem cell-based technology over 10-year period: A systematic scoping review e0302537 EN Quan Duy Vo Faculty of Medicine, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Yukihiro Saito Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Okayama University Hospital Toshihiro Ida Faculty of Medicine, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Kazufumi Nakamura Faculty of Medicine, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Shinsuke Yuasa Faculty of Medicine, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Background Stem cell research, particularly in the domain of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, has shown significant progress. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI), especially machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), has played a pivotal role in refining iPSC classification, monitoring cell functionality, and conducting genetic analysis. These enhancements are broadening the applications of iPSC technology in disease modelling, drug screening, and regenerative medicine. This review aims to explore the role of AI in the advancement of iPSC research. Methods In December 2023, data were collected from three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct) to investigate the application of AI technology in iPSC processing. Results This systematic scoping review encompassed 79 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The number of research studies in this area has increased over time, with the United States emerging as a leading contributor in this field. AI technologies have been diversely applied in iPSC technology, encompassing the classification of cell types, assessment of disease-specific phenotypes in iPSC-derived cells, and the facilitation of drug screening using iPSC. The precision of AI methodologies has improved significantly in recent years, creating a foundation for future advancements in iPSC-based technologies. Conclusions Our review offers insights into the role of AI in regenerative and personalized medicine, highlighting both challenges and opportunities. Although still in its early stages, AI technologies show significant promise in advancing our understanding of disease progression and development, paving the way for future clinical applications. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI Acta Medica Okayama 2078-2489 15 4 2024 A Study of Learning Environment for Initiating Flutter App Development Using Docker 191 EN Soe Thandar Aung Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Nobuo Funabiki Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Lynn Htet Aung Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Safira Adine Kinari Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Mustika Mentari Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University Khaing Hsu Wai Department of Information and Communication Systems, Okayama University The Flutter framework with Dart programming allows developers to effortlessly build applications for both web and mobile from a single codebase. It enables efficient conversions to native codes for mobile apps and optimized JavaScript for web browsers. Since utilizing a wide range of widgets in Flutter ensures consistent experiences on various devices for users, it becomes crucial in programming education by providing a unified environment for learning app development while reducing the need for platform-specific knowledge. However, the setup of the Flutter environment is challenging for novice students due to its multiple steps, such as installing dependencies and configuring environments. To support independent learning for these students, it is essential to simplify the setup by providing user-friendly instructions and automated tools. In this paper, we present a Docker-based environment for Flutter app developments across Windows, Linux, and Mac through Visual Studio Code, ensuring a unified learning experience. This paper aims to simplify complex configurations and address the obstacles encountered by students when initiating Flutter projects. For the evaluation, we prepared three simple Flutter projects along with the setup environment in a Docker container. Then, we asked 24 Master's students at Okayama University, Japan, to install the environment and modify the source codes in the projects independently by following the given instructions. The results show that all the students successfully completed the assignments, which confirms the efficiency and validity of our proposal. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Springer Science and Business Media LLC Acta Medica Okayama 0340-7594 2023 A four-oscillator model of seasonally adapted morning and evening activities in Drosophila melanogaster EN Taishi Yoshii Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Aika Saito Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Tatsuya Yokosako Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster exhibits two activity peaks, one in the morning and another in the evening. Because the two peaks change phase depending on the photoperiod they are exposed to, they are convenient for studying responses of the circadian clock to seasonal changes. To explain the phase determination of the two peaks, Drosophila researchers have employed the two-oscillator model, in which two oscillators control the two peaks. The two oscillators reside in different subsets of neurons in the brain, which express clock genes, the so-called clock neurons. However, the mechanism underlying the activity of the two peaks is complex and requires a new model for mechanistic exploration. Here, we hypothesize a four-oscillator model that controls the bimodal rhythms. The four oscillators that reside in different clock neurons regulate activity in the morning and evening and sleep during the midday and at night. In this way, bimodal rhythms are formed by interactions among the four oscillators (two activity and two sleep oscillators), which may judiciously explain the flexible waveform of activity rhythms under different photoperiod conditions. Although still hypothetical, this model would provide a new perspective on the seasonal adaptation of the two activity peaks. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Springer Science and Business Media LLC Acta Medica Okayama 0946-2716 101 4 2023 Novel extracellular role of REIC/Dkk-3 protein in PD-L1 regulation in cancer cells 431 447 EN Yuma Gohara Department of Cell Biology, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Nahoko Tomonobu Department of Cell Biology, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Rie Kinoshita Department of Cell Biology, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Junichiro Futami Department of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University Léna Audebert Department of Cell Biology, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Youyi Chen Department of Cell Biology, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Ni Luh Gede Yoni Komalasari Department of Cell Biology, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Fan Jiang Department of Cell Biology, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Chikako Yoshizawa Department of Cell Biology, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Hitoshi Murata Department of Cell Biology, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Ken-ichi Yamamoto Department of Cell Biology, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Masami Watanabe Department of Urology, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Hiromi Kumon Innovation Center Okayama for Nanobio-Targeted Therapy, Okayama University Masakiyo Sakaguchi Department of Cell Biology, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine The adenovirus-REIC/Dkk-3 expression vector (Ad-REIC) has been the focus of numerous clinical studies due to its potential for the quenching of cancers. The cancer-suppressing mechanisms of the REIC/DKK-3 gene depend on multiple pathways that exert both direct and indirect effects on cancers. The direct effect is triggered by REIC/Dkk-3-mediated ER stress that causes cancer-selective apoptosis, and the indirect effect can be classified in two ways: (i) induction, by Ad-REIC-mis-infected cancer-associated fibroblasts, of the production of IL-7, an important activator of T cells and NK cells, and (ii) promotion, by the secretory REIC/Dkk-3 protein, of dendritic cell polarization from monocytes. These unique features allow Ad-REIC to exert effective and selective cancer-preventative effects in the manner of an anticancer vaccine. However, the question of how the REIC/Dkk-3 protein leverages anticancer immunity has remained to be answered. We herein report a novel function of the extracellular REIC/Dkk-3—namely, regulation of an immune checkpoint via modulation of PD-L1 on the cancer-cell surface. First, we identified novel interactions of REIC/Dkk-3 with the membrane proteins C5aR, CXCR2, CXCR6, and CMTM6. These proteins all functioned to stabilize PD-L1 on the cell surface. Due to the dominant expression of CMTM6 among the proteins in cancer cells, we next focused on CMTM6 and observed that REIC/Dkk-3 competed with CMTM6 for PD-L1, thereby liberating PD-L1 from its complexation with CMTM6. The released PD-L1 immediately underwent endocytosis-mediated degradation. These results will enhance our understanding of not only the physiological nature of the extracellular REIC/Dkk-3 protein but also the Ad-REIC-mediated anticancer effects. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 78 2 2024 The Impact of Light Touch and Pin Prick on Functional Outcomes in Patients with Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury 163 170 EN Takayuki Deguchi Department of Rehabilitation, Kagawa Rosai Hospital Kanae Kanda Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University Kazunari Furusawa Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Kibikogen Rehabilitation Center for Employment Injuries Nlandu Roger Ngatu Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University Tomohiro Hirao Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University Original Article 10.18926/AMO/66925 A spinal cord injury (SCI) can cause severe lifelong functional disability and profoundly affect an individual’s daily life. We investigated the prediction of patients’ post-SCI functional outcomes by evaluating sensory scores rather than motor scores, as the latter’s association with functional outcomes is well established. We examined patients’ responses to a light touch (LT) and pin prick (PP) at admission and the response data’s usefulness as predictors of functional outcomes (i.e., ability to perform activities of daily living) at discharge. This exploratory observational study used data from the Japanese National Spinal Cord Injury Database (SCI-J). Data from 3,676 patients who met the inclusion criteria and were admitted for an SCI between 1997 and 2020 were analyzed. The motor score of the Functional Independence Measure (mFIM) at discharge was used as an index of functional outcome. A multiple regression analysis revealed that the mFIM was associated with both the LT response (β=0.07 (0.01), p<0.001) and the PP response (β=0.07 (0.01), p<0.001) at admission. The false discovery rate log-worth values for LT and PP were 6.6 and 8.5, respectively. Our findings demonstrate that LT and PP scores at admission can help predict patients’ functional outcomes after an SCI, although the magnitude of their contributions is not high. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 78 2 2024 The Roles of Neuropeptide Y in Respiratory Disease Pathogenesis via the Airway Immune Response 95 106 EN Junko Itano Department of Hematology, Oncology and Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Katsuyuki Kiura Department of Allergy and Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Hospital Yoshinobu Maeda Department of Hematology, Oncology and Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Nobuaki Miyahara Department of Allergy and Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Hospital Review 10.18926/AMO/66912 The lungs are very complex organs, and the respiratory system performs the dual roles of repairing tissue while protecting against infection from various environmental stimuli. Persistent external irritation disrupts the immune responses of tissues and cells in the respiratory system, ultimately leading to respiratory disease. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a 36-amino-acid polypeptide and a neurotransmitter that regulates homeostasis. The NPY receptor is a seven-transmembrane-domain G-protein-coupled receptor with six subtypes (Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5, and Y6). Of these receptors, Y1, Y2, Y4, and Y5 are functional in humans, and Y1 plays important roles in the immune responses of many organs, including the respiratory system. NPY and the Y1 receptor have critical roles in the pathogenesis of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The effects of NPY on the airway immune response and pathogenesis differ among respiratory diseases. This review focuses on the involvement of NPY in the airway immune response and pathogenesis of various respiratory diseases. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学大学院ヘルスシステム統合科学研究科 Acta Medica Okayama 2436-3227 4 2024 アトピー性皮膚炎のある成人が経験するかゆみに関する記述研究 9 18 EN Yuki HIRAMI Faculty of Health Sciences, Okayama University Kanako FUJIMOTO Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University Masahide KODA Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Nahoko HARADA Faculty of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University 10.18926/interdisciplinary/66893 Background: Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by intense itching, significantly impacting patients' psychosocial well-being worldwide. Objective: This study aimed to elucidate the multifaceted and multilayered burden of itch in adult AD patients, exploring strategies to capture the complexity of the disease and its symptoms comprehensively. Methods: The study utilized an array of Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) measures and conducted an exploratory analysis of patients' subjective descriptions of their itch experiences. Results: Twenty-three participants (female: n=16) were enrolled in the study. The Analyses revealed that none of the participants experienced in the same way about physical, emotional, and psychological burden of itch and limitation in social life. Additionally, it was found that PROs capture only partial aspects of itch and do not provide a comprehensive understanding. Discussion: The findings highlight the necessity of employing multiple PROs and conducting in-depth patient interviews to understand the daily life challenges associated with itch. The potential of interdisciplinary research to address the complex burden of itch in AD patients is also emphasized. Conclusion: A comprehensive understanding of the symptom of itch in AD patients requires the use of multiple PROs. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学全学教育・学生支援機構 Acta Medica Okayama 1881-5952 1 2024 コロナ禍が岡山大学留学生に及ぼした影響－L-Café留学生意識調査と留学生相談室に持ち込まれた事例からの一考察－ 69 88 EN Mariko UZUKA Institute for Promotion of Education and Campus Life, Okayama University Masumi FUJIMOTO Institute for Promotion of Education and Campus Life, Okayama University 10.18926/66855 　日本での新型コロナウィルス感染症の流行により、経済、学習環境、生活、進路、精神などの多方面で学生達は影響を受けたが、中でも海外との往来が極端に制限された留学生は更に多くの困難に直面した。L⁻Caféアンケート調査からは多くの学生が経済的困難に直面していることが分かり、５回の食料支援を実施したが、その後の追加調査では、経済的、精神的に助かったという回答が得られた。そして、留学生相談室には入管他手続きや進路・就職に関する問い合わせやハラスメント、トラブル、メンタル面での相談が寄せられ対応したが、「もっとも必要としている学生に支援が届いているか」という課題が残った。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 14 2024 日本におけるレッジョ・エミリア教育の展開と可能性 ―受容・導入期の様相と実践期の課題― 325 339 EN Toshiyuki TAKAHASHI Faculty of Education, Okayama University Kei TAKAHASHI Faculty of Childhood Education, Kurashiki Sakuyo University Kumiko ODA Faculty of Human Life Sciences, Notre Dame Seishin University 10.18926/CTED/66790 　本論は，日本への受容・導入期から実践期に移行しつつあるレッジョ・エミリア教育に関して正しく理解を深めるためには，何が問題や課題になるかについて考察する。第１に，レッジョ・エミリア市の子どもの造形芸術の背景にある造形原理や教育原理を正しく把握する必要がある。第２に，幼児教育を基礎から学び，子どもの造形表現を研究し，美術制作と鑑賞に従事できる「アトリエリスタ」養成の仕組み作りが要請される。第３に，日本の保育理念である「遊び＝学び」の上位概念として「プロジェクト」を位置付け，根本的な保育理念の転換が求められる。第４に，子どもの主体性を大切にした保育実践のために，年間行事を精選しなければならない。第５に，これまでの日本の保育記録の仕方を「ドキュメンテーション」に代替できるかどうかの検討が不可欠である。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI Acta Medica Okayama 2076-2615 14 2 2024 A System for Monitoring Animals Based on Behavioral Information and Internal State Information 281 EN Taro Shibanoki Department of Intelligent Mechanical Systems, Faculty of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Yuugo Yamazaki Major in Computer and Information Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ibaraki University Hideyuki Tonooka Major in Computer and Information Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ibaraki University Managing the risk of injury or illness is an important consideration when keeping pets. This risk can be minimized if pets are monitored on a regular basis, but this can be difficult and time-consuming. However, because only the external behavior of the animal can be observed and the internal condition cannot be assessed, the animal’s state can easily be misjudged. Additionally, although some systems use heartbeat measurement to determine a state of tension, or use rest to assess the internal state, because an increase in heart rate can also occur as a result of exercise, it is desirable to use this measurement in combination with behavioral information. In the current study, we proposed a monitoring system for animals using video image analysis. The proposed system first extracts features related to behavioral information and the animal’s internal state via mask R-CNN using video images taken from the top of the cage. These features are used to detect typical daily activities and anomalous activities. This method produces an alert when the hamster behaves in an unusual way. In our experiment, the daily behavior of a hamster was measured and analyzed using the proposed system. The results showed that the features of the hamster’s behavior were successfully detected. When loud sounds were presented from outside the cage, the system was able to discriminate between the behavioral and internal changes of the hamster. In future research, we plan to improve the accuracy of the measurement of small movements and develop a more accurate system. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学農学部 Acta Medica Okayama 2186-7755 113 2024 Analytical studies on high-yielding characteristics of US soybean cv. ‘UA4805’ in comparison with Japanese cv. ‘Akimaro’ 25 32 EN Sultanzada Mohammad Marouf Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science Yu Hasegawa School of Agriculture Ryuta Manabe School of Agriculture Kuniyuki Saitoh Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science Field experiments were conducted in 2020 and 2021 at the Field Science Center of Okayama Univ. (34°41’ N, 133°55’ E). Two Soybean cultivars ‘UA4805’ and ‘Akimaro’ were sown with two planting densities, 12.5plants m−2 (sparse, 80×10cm) and 25plants m−2 (dense, 80×5cm)on May 25 (early), June 29 (normal), and Aug. 3 (late) in 2020, and 80 and 30cm row-width, and 12.5 and 25 plant m−2 in 2021 on June 23. Seed yield was higher in ‘UA4805’ than in ‘Akimaro’ in 2020 and 2021. The later the sowing time, the higher the seeds/stem ratio. Both cultivars showed higher dry matter in dense planting. Dry matter was higher in ‘Akimaro’, while seed yield was lower than ‘UA4805’. In contrast, ‘UA4805’ showed lower dry matter with higher seed yield. The numbers of nodes, pods, and seeds were higher in ‘UA4805’ resulting in the higher seed yield. Lodging score is larger in ‘Akimaro’ especially in dense planting. The seeds/stem ratio is much higher in ‘UA4805’ than ‘Akimaro’ across 2 densities, 3 sowing times and 2 row width. Pods setting ratio was nearly two times higher in ‘UA4805’ compared to ‘Akimaro’. The greater seed yield of ‘UA4805’ compared to ‘Akimaro’ was due to the higher pod setting ratio, seeds/stem ratio, and lower lodging score, nevertheless the dry matter was larger in ‘Akimaro’. If late sowing is applied, higher planting density is recommended for better seed yield. Narrow row is an effective way to improve seed yield in soybean. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

American Chemical Society (ACS) Acta Medica Okayama 1936-0851 18 1 2023 Close-Packed Ices in Nanopores 347 354 EN Kenji Mochizuki Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University Yuji Adachi Graduate School of Natural Sciences, Okayama University Kenichiro Koga Department of Chemistry, Okayama University Water molecules in any of the ice polymorphs organize themselves into a perfect four-coordinated hydrogen-bond network at the expense of dense packing. Even at high pressures, there seems to be no way to reconcile the ice rules with the close packing. Here, we report several close-packed ice phases in carbon nanotubes obtained from molecular dynamics simulations of two different water models. Typically they are in plastic states at high temperatures and are transformed into the hydrogen-ordered ice, keeping their close-packed structures at lower temperatures. The close-packed structures of water molecules in carbon nanotubes are identified with those of spheres in a cylinder. We present design principles of hydrogen-ordered, close-packed structures of ice in nanotubes, which suggest many possible dense ice forms with or without nonzero polarization. In fact, some of the simulated ices are found to exhibit ferroelectric ordering upon cooling. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Elsevier Acta Medica Okayama 0531-5565 180 2023 Attenuation of pulmonary damage in aged lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation mice through continuous 2 % hydrogen gas inhalation: A potential therapeutic strategy for geriatric inflammation and survival 112270 EN Toshiyuki Aokage Department of Emergency, Critical Care and Disaster Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Masumi Iketani Biological Process of Aging, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology Mizuki Seya Department of Emergency, Critical Care and Disaster Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Ying Meng Department of Emergency, Critical Care and Disaster Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kohei Ageta Department of Emergency, Critical Care and Disaster Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hiromichi Naito Department of Emergency, Critical Care and Disaster Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Atsunori Nakao Department of Emergency, Critical Care and Disaster Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Ikuroh Ohsawa Biological Process of Aging, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology Introduction: With the global population aging, there is an increased prevalence of sepsis among the elderly, a demographic particularly susceptible to inflammation. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of hydrogen gas, known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, in attenuating inflammation specifically in the lungs and liver, and age-associated molecular markers in aged mice. Methods: Male mice aged 21 to 23 months, representative of the human elderly population, were subjected to inflammation via intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The mice were allocated into eight groups to examine the effects of varying durations and concentrations of hydrogen gas inhalation: control, saline without hydrogen, saline with 24-hour 2 % hydrogen, LPS without hydrogen, LPS with 24-hour 2 % hydrogen, LPS with 6-hour 2 % hydrogen, LPS with 1-hour 2 % hydrogen, and LPS with 24-hour 1 % hydrogen. Parameters assessed included survival rate, activity level, inflammatory biomarkers, and organ injury. Results: Extended administration of hydrogen gas specifically at a 2 % concentration for 24 h led to a favorable prognosis in the aged mice by reducing mRNA expression of inflammatory biomarkers in lung and liver tissue, mitigating lung injury, and diminishing the expression of the senescence-associated protein p21. Moreover, hydrogen gas inhalation selectively ameliorated senescence-related markers in lung tissue, including C-X-C motif chemokine 2, metalloproteinase-3, and arginase-1. Notably, hydrogen gas did not alleviate LPS-induced liver injury under the conditions tested. Conclusion: The study highlights that continuous inhalation of hydrogen gas at a 2 % concentration for 24 h can be a potent intervention in the geriatric population for improving survival and physical activity by mitigating pulmonary inflammation and modulating senescence-related markers in aged mice with LPS-induced inflammation. This finding paves the way for future research into hydrogen gas as a therapeutic strategy to alleviate severe inflammation that can lead to organ damage in the elderly. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 77 6 2023 Survey of Osteoarthritis of the Shoulder in Patients who Underwent Knee Arthroplasty for Knee Osteoarthritis 613 618 EN Yoshiaki Miyake Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School Yoshifumi Namba Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School Shigeru Mitani Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School Norifumi Umehara Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School Toyohiro Kawamoto Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School Shuro Furuichi Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School Original Article 10.18926/AMO/66153 The relationship between osteoarthritis (OA) of the lower extremity and shoulder OA has not been established. This study evaluated the prevalence of shoulder OA in patients with knee OA. We collected contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) images of the shoulder joints of 105 patients with knee OA that were taken 1 week after they underwent primary knee arthroplasty to check for venous thromboembolism (VTE). The images were compared with CECT images of 110 control-group patients that were taken for the purpose of differentiating VTE. Shoulder OA was present in a significantly higher percentage of patients with knee arthroplasty than controls (29% versus 15%), and the difference was particularly pronounced in patients in their 70s (33%) compared to age-matched controls (11%). Patients with knee OA often use arm support to stand up or walk due to knee joint pain and muscle weakness, which places the weight-bearing shoulder at risk of developing OA. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers Acta Medica Okayama 1881-3054 16 4 2022 A bilevel production planning using machine learning-based customer modeling JAMDSM0037 EN Jun NAKAO Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Tatsushi NISHI Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Mass customization is an important strategy to improve production systems to satisfy customers’ preferences while maintaining production efficiency for mass production. Module production is one of the ways to achieve mass customization, and products are produced by combining modules. In the module production, it becomes much more important for manufacturing companies to reflect customers’ preferences for selling products. The manufacturer can increase its total profit by providing customized products that satisfy customers’ preferences by increasing customers’ satisfaction. In conventional production planning, there are some cases where module production is conducted by the demands from customers’ preferences. However, the customer decision-making model has not been employed in the production planning model. In this paper, a production planning model incorporating customers’ preferences is developed. The customers’ purchasing behavior is generated by using a machine learning model. Customer segmentation is conducted by clustering data that uses the purchase data of multiple customers. The resulting production planning model is a bilevel production planning problem consisting of a single company and multiple customers. Each company can sell products that combine modules that customers require in each segment. We show that the proposed model can obtain higher customers’ satisfaction with greater profits than the model that does not employ the customers’ purchasing model. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Acta Medica Okayama 2169-3536 11 2023 Artificial Neural Network Based Audio Reinforcement for Computer Assisted Rote Learning 39466 39483 EN Parisa Supitayakul Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Zeynep Yücel Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Akito Monden Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University The dual-channel assumption of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning suggests that importing a large amount of information through a single (visual or audio) channel overloads that channel, causing partial loss of information, while importing it simultaneously through multiple channels relieves the burden on them and leads to the registration of a larger amount of information. In light of such knowledge, this study investigates the possibility of reinforcing visual stimuli with audio for supporting e-learners in memorization tasks. Specifically, we consider three kinds of learning material and two kinds of audio stimuli and partially reinforce each kind of material with each kind of stimuli in an arbitrary way. In a series of experiments, we determine the particular type of audio, which offers the highest improvement for each kind of material. Our work stands out as being the first study investigating the differences in memory performance in relation to different combinations of learning content and stimulus. Our key findings from the experiments are: (i) E-learning is more effective in refreshing memory rather than studying from scratch, (ii) Non-informative audio is more suited to verbal content, whereas informative audio is better for numerical content, (iii) Constant audio triggering degrades learning performance and thus audio triggering should be handled with care. Based on these findings, we develop an ANN-based estimator to determine the proper moment for triggering audio (i.e. when memory performance is estimated to be declining) and carry out follow-up experiments for testing the integrated framework. Our contributions involve (i) determination of the most effective audio for each content type, (ii) estimation of memory deterioration based on learners' interaction logs, and (iii) the proposal of improvement of memory registration through auditory reinforcement. We believe that such findings constitute encouraging evidence the memory registration of e-learners can be enhanced with content-aware audio incorporation. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Elsevier BV Acta Medica Okayama 0169-5002 178 2023 PD-1 blockade augments CD8+ T cell dependent antitumor immunity triggered by Ad-SGE-REIC in Egfr-mutant lung cancer 1 10 EN Takamasa Nakasuka Department of Hematology, Oncology and Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kadoaki Ohashi Department of Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Hospital Kazuya Nishii Department of Hematology, Oncology and Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Atsuko Hirabae Department of Hematology, Oncology and Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Sachi Okawa Department of Hematology, Oncology and Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Nahoko Tomonobu Department of Cell Biology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kenji Takada Department of Hematology, Oncology and Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Chihiro Ando Department of Hematology, Oncology and Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hiromi Watanabe Department of Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Hospital Go Makimoto Department of Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Hospital Kiichiro Ninomiya Department of Hematology, Oncology and Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Masanori Fujii Department of Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Hospital Toshio Kubo Center for Clinical Oncology, Okayama University Hospital Eiki Ichihara Department of Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Hospital Katsuyuki Hotta Center for Innovative Clinical Medicine, Okayama University Hospital Masahiro Tabata Center for Clinical Oncology, Okayama University Hospital Hiromi Kumon Innovation Center Okayama for Nanobio-targeted Therapy, Okayama University Yoshinobu Maeda Department of Hematology, Oncology and Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Katsuyuki Kiura Department of Respiratory Medicine, Okayama University Hospital Objectives: No immunotherapeutic protocol has yet been established in never-smoking patients with lung cancer harboring driver oncogenic mutations, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. The immunostimulatory effect of Ad-REIC, a genetically engineered adenovirus vector expressing a tumor suppressor gene, reduced expression in immortalized cells (REIC), has been investigated in clinical trials for various solid tumors. However, the immunostimulatory effect of the Ad-REIC in EGFR-mutant lung cancer with a non-inflamed tumor microenvironment (TME) has not been explored. Materials and methods: We used a syngeneic mouse model developed by transplanting Egfr-mutant lung cancer cells into single or double flanks of C57BL/6J mice. Ad-SGE-REIC, a 2nd-generation vector with an enhancer sequence, was injected only into the tumors from one flank, and its antitumor effects were assessed. Tumor-infiltrating cells were evaluated using immunohistochemistry or flow cytometry. The synergistic effects of Ad-SGE-REIC and PD-1 blockade were also examined. Results: Injection of Ad-SGE-REIC into one side of the tumor induced not only a local antitumor effect but also a bystander abscopal effect in the non-injected tumor, located on the other flank. The number of PD-1+CD8+ T cells increased in both injected and non-injected tumors. PD-1 blockade augmented the local and abscopal antitumor effects of Ad-SGE-REIC by increasing the number of CD8+ T cells in the TME of Egfr-mutant tumors. Depletion of CD8+ cells reverted the antitumor effect, suggesting they contribute to antitumor immunity. Conclusion: Ad-SGE-REIC induced systemic antitumor immunity by modifying the TME status from non-inflamed to inflamed, with infiltration of CD8+ T cells. Additionally, in Egfr-mutant lung cancer, this effect was enhanced by PD-1 blockade. These findings pave the way to establish a novel combined immunotherapy strategy with Ad-SGE-REIC and anti-PD-1 antibody for lung cancer with a non-inflamed TME. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI Acta Medica Okayama 1999-4923 15 2 2023 Rationalizing the Binding Modes of PET Radiotracers Targeting the Norepinephrine Transporter 690 EN Anna Tutov Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry, University of Würzburg Xinyu Chen Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Augsburg Rudolf A. Werner Department of Nuclear Medicine and Comprehensive Heart Failure Center, University Hospital Würzburg Saskia Muehlig Department of Nuclear Medicine and Comprehensive Heart Failure Center, University Hospital Würzburg Thomas Zimmermann Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry, University of Würzburg Naoko Nose Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Kazuhiro Koshino Department of Systems and Informatics, Hokkaido Information University Constantin Lapa Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Augsburg Michael Decker Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry, University of Würzburg Takahiro Higuchi Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Purpose: A new PET radiotracer F-18-AF78 showing great potential for clinical application has been reported recently. It belongs to a new generation of phenethylguanidine-based norepinephrine transporter (NET)-targeting radiotracers. Although many efforts have been made to develop NET inhibitors as antidepressants, systemic investigations of the structure-activity relationships (SARs) of NET-targeting radiotracers have rarely been performed. Methods: Without changing the phenethylguanidine pharmacophore and 3-fluoropropyl moiety that is crucial for easy labeling, six new analogs of F-18-AF78 with different meta-substituents on the benzene-ring were synthesized and evaluated in a competitive cellular uptake assay and in in vivo animal experiments in rats. Computational modeling of these tracers was established to quantitatively rationalize the interaction between the radiotracers and NET. Results: Using non-radiolabeled reference compounds, a competitive cellular uptake assay showed a decrease in NET-transporting affinity from meta-fluorine to iodine (0.42 and 6.51 mu M, respectively), with meta-OH being the least active (22.67 mu M). Furthermore, in vivo animal studies with radioisotopes showed that heart-to-blood ratios agreed with the cellular experiments, with AF78(F) exhibiting the highest cardiac uptake. This result correlates positively with the electronegativity rather than the atomic radius of the meta-substituent. Computational modeling studies revealed a crucial influence of halogen substituents on the radiotracer-NET interaction, whereby a T-shaped pi-pi stacking interaction between the benzene-ring of the tracer and the amino acid residues surrounding the NET binding site made major contributions to the different affinities, in accordance with the pharmacological data. Conclusion: The SARs were characterized by in vitro and in vivo evaluation, and computational modeling quantitatively rationalized the interaction between radiotracers and the NET binding site. These findings pave the way for further evaluation in different species and underline the potential of AF78(F) for clinical application, e.g., cardiac innervation imaging or molecular imaging of neuroendocrine tumors. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 13 2023 幼児の身体障害への理解を援助する絵本教材 389 403 EN Yasumasa Asano Yuki Yamaguchi (Nishioka) Noriko Baba 10.18926/CTED/65086 　本論は，身体障害を扱う絵本に焦点を当て，幼児期における障害理解を援助する絵本を収集及び分析し，絵本リストを作成すると同時に，それらの絵本の学びの要素や保育者の留意事項等について考察するものである。その結果，身体障害に関する絵本は，情緒的な理解の促進を目指したもの，盲導犬や車椅子等の障害児・者の生活を補助するものに関する知識の習得に重点が置かれたもの，その両方等，作者の思想や意図によって多種多様なものが存在することが分かった。それらを有効に活用するために保育者は，絵本に込められた学びの要素を読み取り，障害理解教育のねらいに合わせて適切な絵本を選択し，幼児の日常生活に般化されるように提示することが求められる。今後の課題は，リストを基にした現場実践から事例を収集し教育効果を分析すること，障害理解絵本が新たに出版される場合はその内容を吟味し，リストを随時更新して一層の実用化を図ること，が挙げられた。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 13 2023 COVID-19 流行下における教員研修の実践報告 ―対面およびオンラインによる研修を通して― 285 297 EN Hironori Saino Center for Teacher Education and Development, Okayama University 10.18926/CTED/65079 COVID-19 の流行に伴い，教員研修の在り方にも変化が生まれた。COVID-19 の流行以前には対面方式が中心であった教員研修が，COVID-19 の流行によって対面方式にとらわれない実施形態に移行した。令和２年度～令和４年度に担当した倉敷市教育委員会倉敷教育センター主催の「３年目研修」の事例をもとに，主体的・対話的で深い学びに向けた授業改善に繋がるための教員研修を目指し，ICT 機器を活用しながら実施した研修の計画及び実施の実際について報告する。この報告を通して３年間の取り組みを整理するとともに，対面方式及びオンライン方式という異なる形態で研修を実施したことにより見えてきた課題を整理し，次年度以降の研修計画の改善およびよりよい研修の在り方を検討し，研修の充実に繋げていきたい。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 13 2023 第三者と被害者の視点を含んだ「いじめ」の定義を考える ―最も深刻ないじめの形態分析を通して― 161 174 EN Sena Miyagawa Graduate School of Education, Okayama University(Master Degree Course) Tazuko Aoki Faculty of Education, Okayama University 10.18926/CTED/65071 平成25 年に文部科学省が発表した「いじめの定義」は「被害者の主観」に基づいて定義されている。この定義は第三者がいじめを早期に発見する基準にはなりにくいと考えられた。そこで本研究の目的を，第三者視点でもあり，被害者視点でもある，いじめの早期発見に貢献できる指標を作成することとした。その際，「継続性」，「加害者の人数」，「加害者の優位性」の３要因をいじめの「形態」として取り上げ，被害者にとって最も深刻ないじめの「形態」は何かについて大学生143 名を対象にアンケート調査を行って検討した。分析の結果，被害者にとって最も深刻ないじめの形態は，「被害者に対して加害者の方が優位な立場にある状態」であった。つまり，いじめの被害者が加害者に対してやり返せないことが，最も被害者にとって深刻であることがわかった。この結果を踏まえて，いじめ早期発見に繋がる私なりの「いじめの定義」を作成した。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 76 5 2022 Correlation between Mean Arterial Pressure and Regional Cerebral Oxygen Saturation on Cardiopulmonary Bypass in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery 557 564 EN Yu Pan Department of Anesthesiology and Resuscitology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Qingqing Song Department of Anesthesiology and Resuscitology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Tomoyuki Kanazawa Department of Anesthesiology and Resuscitology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hiroshi Morimatsu Department of Anesthesiology and Resuscitology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Original Article 10.18926/AMO/64037 Some pediatric cardiac patients might experience low regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) during surgery. We investigated whether a pediatric patient’s mean arterial pressure (MAP) can affect the rSO2 value during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). We retrospectively analyzed the cases of the pediatric patients who underwentcardiac surgery at our hospital (Jan. –Dec. 2019; n=141). At each MAP stage, we constructed line charts through the mean of the rSO2 values corresponding to each MAP and then calculated the correlation coefficients. We next divided the patients into age subgroups (neonates, infants, children) and into cyanotic congenital heart disease (CHD) and acyanotic CHD groups and analyzed these groups in the same way. The analyses of all 141 patients revealed that during CPB the rSO2 value increased with an increase in MAP (r=0.1626). There was a correlation between rSO2 and MAP in the children (r=0.2720) but not in the neonates (r=0.06626) or infants (r=0.05260). Cyanotic CHD or acyanotic CHD did not have a significant effect on the rSO2/MAP correlation. Our analysis demonstrated different patterns of a correlation between MAP and rSO2 in pediatric cardiac surgery patients, depending on age. MAP was positively correlated with rSO2 typically in children but not in neonate or infant patients. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 76 5 2022 Current Insights into Mesenchymal Signatures in Glioblastoma 489 502 EN Yuji Matsumoto Department of Neurological Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences Tomotsugu Ichikawa Department of Neurological Surgery, Kagawa Prefectural Central Hospital Kazuhiko Kurozumi Department of Neurosurgery, Hamamatsu University Hospital Isao Date Department of Neurological Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences Review 10.18926/AMO/64024 Glioblastoma (GBM) is a fatal primary malignant brain tumor in adults. Despite decades of research, the prognosis for GBM patients is still disappointing. One major reason for the intense therapeutic resistance of GBM is inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity. GBM-intrinsic transcriptional profiling has suggested the presence of at least three subtypes of GBM: the proneural, classic, and mesenchymal subtypes. The mesenchymal subtype is the most aggressive, and patients with the mesenchymal subtype of primary and recurrent tumors tend to have a worse prognosis compared with patients with the other subtypes. Furthermore, GBM can shift from other subtypes to the mesenchymal subtype over the course of disease progression or recurrence. This phenotypic transition is driven by diverse tumor-intrinsic molecular mechanisms or microenvironmental factors. Thus, better understanding of the plastic nature of mesenchymal transition in GBM is pivotal to developing new therapeutic strategies. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of the elements involved in the mesenchymal transition of GBM and discuss future perspectives. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Walter de Gruyter GmbH Acta Medica Okayama 1081-1826 2022 Middle-income traps and complexity in economic development EN Takao Asano Faculty of Economics , Okayama University Akihisa Shibata Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University Masanori Yokoo Faculty of Economics , Okayama University In this paper, we develop a simple multi-technology overlapping generations model that exhibits a wide variety of economic development patterns. In particular, our numerical simulations demonstrate that for a given set of parameter values, various types of development patterns such as the middle-income trap, the poverty trap, periodic or chaotic fluctuations, and high-income paths can coexist, and which pattern is realized depends only on the initial value of capital. For another set of parameter values, we show that, due to the pinball effect, an economy starting at a middle-income level can take off to the high-income state or get caught in the poverty trap in a seemingly random way after undergoing transient chaotic motions. Our results can explain observed complicated patterns of economic development in a unified manner. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 76 3 2022 Evaluation of Fast Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging Using New Software Designed for Widespread Clinical Use 297 305 EN Masahiro Kuroda Radiological Technology, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University Kohei Konishi Radiological Technology, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University Kohei Sugimoto Radiological Technology, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University Yuuki Yoshimura Radiological Technology, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University Kentaro Hamada Radiological Technology, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University Abdullah Khasawnehc Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Majd Barham Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Nouha Tekiki Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Irfan Sugianto Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Babatunde O. Bamgbose Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hinata Ishizaka Radiological Technology, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University Yudai Shimizu Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Yuki Nakamitsu Radiological Technology, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University Wlla E. Al-Hammad Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Ryo Kamizaki Radiological Technology, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University Akira Kurozumi Central Division of Radiology, Okayama University Hospital Toshi Matsushita Central Division of Radiology, Okayama University Hospital Seiichiro Ohno Central Division of Radiology, Okayama University Hospital Susumu Kanazawa Department of Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Junichi Asaumi Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Original Article 10.18926/AMO/63739 Clinical research using restricted diffusion-weighted imaging, especially diffusion kurtosis (DK) imaging, has been progressing, with reports on its effectiveness in the diagnostic imaging of cerebral infarctions, neurodegenerative diseases, and tumors, among others. However, the application of DK imaging in daily clinical practice has not spread because of the long imaging time required and the use of specific software for image creation. Herein, with the aim of promoting clinical research using DK imaging at any medical facility, we evaluated fast DK imaging using a new software program. We developed a new macro program that produces DK images using general-purpose, inexpensive software (Microsoft Excel and ImageJ), and we evaluated fast DK imaging using bio-phantoms and a healthy volunteer in clinical trials. The DK images created by the new software with diffusion-weighted images captured with short-time imaging sequences were similar to the original DK images captured with long-time imaging sequences. The DK images using three b-values, which can reduce the imaging time by 43%, were equivalent to the DK images using five b-values. The DK imaging technique developed herein might allow any medical facility to increase its daily clinical use of DK imaging and easily conduct clinical research. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Public Library Science Acta Medica Okayama 1932-6203 17 4 2022 Interest in Infectious Diseases specialty among Japanese medical students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: A web-based, cross-sectional study e0267587 EN Hideharu Hagiya Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Yuki Otsuka Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kazuki Tokumasu Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hiroyuki Honda Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Yoshito Nishimura Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Mikako Obika Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Fumio Otsuka Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences IntroductionThe emergence of the novel coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has led to huge disruptions in the medical field and society. The significance of training and education for experts has been increasingly acknowledged in Japan, where the number of infectious disease (ID) specialists is reportedly insufficient. In this paper, we report the results of a web-based survey that was conducted to reveal the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced medical students' awareness of ID specialists and future career choices. MethodThis cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in March 2021 and targeted 717 medical students belonging to Medical School of Okayama University, Japan. The questionnaire consisted of four questions meant to assess students' knowledge and future intentions of becoming ID specialists. ResultsWe obtained 328 eligible questionnaires (response rate: 45.7%). Of 227 (69.2%) students who were aware of ID specialists, 99 (43.6%) answered that they came to know about them only after the pandemic, 12 (3.7%) answered that their interest in being an ID specialist arose during the pandemic, while 36 (11.0%) responded that they would rather not become ID specialists. At the time of the survey, 5 students (1.5%) were aiming to become ID specialists. ConclusionWe observed a very low rate of interest to be an ID specialist among medical students. The experience of the pandemic does not seem to have influenced Japanese medical students to choose ID as a specialty for their careers. Continuous efforts to increase the number of ID specialists are necessary in Japan as a countermeasure against the coming pandemic. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学経済学会 Acta Medica Okayama 2433-4146 53 3 2022 ポーランドにおける体制転換以降の政治・経済・社会的変動－カトリック教会の動向とポピュリズム政治の台頭を中心に－ 21 44 EN Hiroichi Iemoto Masahiro Taguchi 10.18926/OER/63485 This paper describes the doctrinal trends of the Catholic Church and the rise of populist politics by analyzing the political, economic, and social changes that have occurred since the system transformation period. In 1989, Poland became the first socialist country to establish a non-communist government and led the system transformations in Eastern European countries. Politically, Poland has broken the communist dictatorship and introduced political pluralism, economically she has promoted market liberalization, and socially she has achieved democratization and cultural pluralism. However, politicians, while superficially advocating political pluralism, often engaged in a battle of mutual accusations through “lustration,” which refers to policies that limit the participation of former communists, especially informants of the communist secret police, resulting in political chaos. In recent years, under the “Law and Justice” regime, Catholic traditions and conservative national and family values have been honored as values that must be upheld by Poles, while EU skepticism has been propagated, anti-immigrant sentiments have been fanned, and the clampdown on LGBT people has been tightened. Conflicts with the EU have also intensified, including political intervention in the judiciary and the supremacy of domestic law over EU law. Put simply, Law and Justice, while claiming to reintroduce pluralism into a Polish polity dominated by the monolithic technocratic liberalism that was dominant in the early years of the transition, has in fact empowered social groups that felt excluded from the post-1989 reforms to create a more exclusive monism. Thus, while Poland received international attention as a country that led the way in democratization among the former Eastern European countries, even today pluralism has not taken stable root. In Chapter 1, the political and economic situation and changes of doctrine of the Church during the transition period will be analyzed. In Chapter 2, the political changes during the EU accession period and the church’s search for its position will mentioned. The chapter ３ will analyze the rise of populism after 2015 and its relationship to the Catholic Church. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Sage Publications Ltd. Acta Medica Okayama 2058-4601 11 4 2022 MRI multiparametric scoring system for pial blood supply of intracranial meningiomas EN Fumiyo Higaki Department of Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Satoshi Inoue Department of Neurosurgery, Okayama City Hospital Wakako Oda Department of Pathology, Okayama City Hospital Eiji Matsusue Department of Radiology, Tottori Prefectural Central Hospital Takao Hiraki Department of Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Background: Meningiomas are occasionally fed by pial blood supply (PBS). It is postulated that peritumoral flow void (PTFV), peritumoral brain edema (PTBE), and absence of an arachnoid plane (AP) are useful parameters for evaluating PBS. Purpose: To determine whether conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a multiparametric scoring system (MSS) is a useful way to predict PBS. Material and Methods: Forty-six patients were included and divided: PBS and non-PBS groups. Differences between the groups in six parameters of MR imaging were analyzed: tumor size, tumor location, PTBE grade, AP grade, PTFV, and MIB1 labeling index (MIB1-LI) grade. Cutoff values were determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for the differentiation of both groups based on statistically significant parameters. All cases were scored as 1 (PBS) or 0 (non-PBS) for each parameter according to set thresholds. Individual scores were totaled for each case, yielding a combined score for each case to obtain a cutoff value using ROC curve analysis for the MSS. Results: Peritumoral brain edema grade, AP grade, PTFV, and MIB-LI grade were statistically associated with PBS. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses showed that PTBE grade 3 or 4, AP grade 3 or 4, and PTFV positivity had the highest accuracy of 69%, 64%, and 68%, respectively. Regarding the MSS, a cutoff value of 2 had the highest accuracy of 71%; PBS diagnosis was indicated by at least two of the three parameters, namely, PTBE grade, AP grade, and PTFV. Conclusion: The MSS is a useful way to predict PBS in intracranial meningiomas on MRI. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 76 2 2022 Survey of Shoulder Osteoarthritis in Patients who Underwent Total Hip Arthroplasty for Hip Osteoarthritis 173 177 EN Yoshiaki Miyake Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School Shigeru Mitani Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School Yoshifumi Namba Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School Norifumi Umehara Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School Toyohiro Kawamoto Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School Shuro Furuichi Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School Original Article 10.18926/AMO/63411 To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have reported a relationship between osteoarthritis (OA) of the lower limbs and OA of the shoulder joints. We evaluated the correlation between shoulder OA and hip OA. We collected contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) images of the shoulder joints of 159 patients with hip OA who underwent primary total hip arthroplasty (THA). The images, taken 1 week after THA to monitor venous thromboembolism (VTE), were used to examine the prevalence of shoulder OA. They were compared with those of 103 controls who underwent CECT during the same period to monitor VTE. Shoulder OA was observed in 15% of the controls and 24% of the THA patients. Although the rate was somewhat higher in the THA group, the difference was not significant. However, in the THA group, significantly more patients with bilateral hip OA (33%) had shoulder OA than those with unilateral hip OA (17%). In summary, the prevalence of shoulder OA was significantly higher in patients with bilateral hip OA. In these patients, pain and instability in the hip joints require them to use arm support to stand up or walk, putting the weight-bearing shoulder at risk of developing OA. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 76 2 2022 The Construction of a Community Long-term Care Model for Home-based Elderly Individuals 145 154 EN Yi Qin Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine Linlin Liu Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine Fanghui Zhu Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine Huazhen Lu Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine Mingliu Huang Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine Original Article 10.18926/AMO/63408 With rapidly aging populations, family care functions can become weakened, and community health services often lack unified standards. A standardized and professional community home-based long-term care model (CHLCM) for the elderly is urgently needed in many regions of China and in other countries. Here, we explored the indicators of the need for a CHLCM among elderly individuals, and we constructed a CHLCM. We created and distributed a questionnaire regarding the requirement of long-term care services, based on a literature review. The two-rounds Delphi method was used, involving 20 experts who were randomly selected from among the medical universities, community health service centers, and nursing homes in Nanning, Guangxi, China. The experts’ enthusiasm rates in the questionnaire’s two rounds were 95% and 100%, respectively. The authentic coefficient of the experts’ consulting was 0.857, and that of the experts’ academic level was 0.835; the judgement coefficient was 0.880 and the familiar coefficient was 0.855. The CHLCM includes service content and an evaluation. The coordination coefficients for the two primary, eight secondary, and 29 tertiary indicators were 0.200, 0.386, and 0.184, respectively (p<0.05). The experts’ enthusiasm and authority were high. The coordination of the experts’ agreement was sufficient, and the analysis results were reliable. The CHLCM includes 29 items that provide a foundation and references for the formulation of concrete indicators and subsequent research. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 12 2022 「総合的な学習の時間」に対する中学生のとらえかた -学校生活・教科学習の充実度と総学で身につく資質能力の関係- 151 164 EN Hiroshi Takahata Center for Teacher Education and Development, Okayama University 10.18926/CTED/63305 本稿では「総合的な学習の時間」に対する中学生のとらえかたを学校社会学的視点から明らかにする。対象は中等教育学校前期課程の３年生である。同校では後期課程との接続を意識した六年一貫教育に取り組んでいる。７つのキー・コンピテンシーを設定し「課題研究（＝総合的な学習（探究）の時間）」を柱とする教育課程を編成している。３年生は「自己の生き方」に関わる課題を自ら設定し，解決方法を工夫して取り組み，得られた成果を論文及びポスターにまとめ，発表することになっている。調査では学校生活の充実度や教科の授業への意欲及び授業内容の理解度を尋ねた。また，それらと「課題研究」のテーマ設定や計画の充実度，「課題研究」を通して「身についた」と感じる資質能力との関係を検討した。計画の充実度や設定したテーマの質と，学校生活への満足度や教科の授業に対する意欲及び授業内容の理解度との間には明確な相関が見られることが明らかとなった。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 12 2022 市民育成のための地域日本語教育の理論的枠組みの構築―外国人技能実習生のキャリア形成に焦点化して― 135 149 EN HOANG Ngoc Bich Tran Toshinori Kuwabara Graduate School of Education, Okayama University 10.18926/CTED/63304 本稿は、市民育成のための地域社会における日本語教育の原理や方法に関する理論的枠組みを構築しようとするものである。その際、特に外国人技能実習生に対する日本語教育を対象として取り上げ、技能実習生のキャリア形成に焦点をあて、それに対して日本語教育がどのように役立つかを、先行研究の分析を通して理論的に考察していく。外国人技能実習生が直面している問題としては、地域社会に参加する市民を育成するための内容が組み込まれていないことによって、彼ら・彼女らのキャリア形成につながる学習が十分に保障されていないことが挙げられる。本稿では、市民育成と日本語教育の関連について考察した先行研究を分析し、外国人が日本社会の中で個々の生き方を追求するにあたって、日本語教育がどのような役割を担うかを理論的に検討する。そのうえで、そのための学習の場としての地域日本語教育の可能性と意義を探る。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 12 2022 人間関係形成構築に向けた「総合的な学習の時間」の実践研究 ―改訂学習指導要領における協働的学びからの検討― 119 133 EN Kiyohiro Sakuda Waseda University Research Institute for Teacher Education Yoshikazu Nakayama Okayama University whole school education and student support organization Career Development Center 10.18926/CTED/63302 改訂学習指導要領(平成29年)を経て，これまでの総合的な学習の時間とは異なり，より一層，「自己の生き方」「人間関係形成」及び，「探究的な見方・考え方」について重視された内容となっている。本稿では，筆者(作田)の初等教育実践事例をもとにし，総合的な学習の時間の目指す意義を探ると共に，総合的・横断的な視点から検討し，持続可能な未来社会にわたり，必要となる資質能力について明らかとした。また，人間関係形成の構築に向け，これからの総合的な学習の時間の果たす役割について理論及び，実践的考察を行い，今後に必要な総合的な学習の時間における課題と展望について示唆した。なお，ESDに掲げる今日的教育課題から，総合的な学習の時間における意義と効果及び，役割について多面的な側面から考察し，「真正な学び」に向けた自己の生き方を考えることのできる，「真の生きる力」に関する教育原理について明らかとした。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 12 2022 保育施設における幼児の描画活動に見るキャラクター表現と図形模写能力の関連性 59 73 EN Yui Shiota(Seiyo) Fund-contributed medical corporation Ryutenkai Katagi Neurosurgery Sigma Daycare Center Kei Takahashi The Faculty of Ch ildhood Education, Kurashiki Sakuyo University Mika Katayama Graduate School of Education, Okayama University 10.18926/CTED/63298 本論は，幼児の描画活動におけるキャラクター表現と図形模写能力の関連性について考察する。そこで，キャラクター表現の有無が，図形模写能力に与える影響を明らかにするため，①キャラクター表現を行う幼児，②キャラクターは描かないが一般的な描画を行う幼児，③自発的に描画活動を行わない幼児，の３群に分け図形模写能力を比較検討した。その結果，キャラクター表現をする幼児も，一般的な描画をする幼児と同水準の図形模写能力を有していることが，明らかになった。このことから，キャラクター表現は，一般の描画表現と同様に，描画経験の蓄積となる表現形式の１つになり得ると考えられる。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Nature Portfolio Acta Medica Okayama 2045-2322 12 1 2022 The significance of ErbB2/3 in the conversion of induced pluripotent stem cells into cancer stem cells 2711 EN Ghmkin Hassan Department of Biotechnology and Drug Discovery, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University Maram H. Zahra Department of Biotechnology and Drug Discovery, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University Akimasa Seno Department of Biotechnology and Drug Discovery, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University Masaharu Seno Department of Biotechnology and Drug Discovery, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are suggested to be responsible for drug resistance and aggressive phenotypes of tumors. Mechanisms of CSC induction are still under investigation. Our lab has established a novel method to generate CSCs from iPSCs under a cancerous microenvironment mimicked by the conditioned medium (CM) of cancer-derived cells. Here, we analyzed the transcriptome of CSCs, which were converted from iPSCs with CM from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells. The differentially expressed genes were identified and used to explore pathway enrichment. From the comparison of the CSCs with iPSCs, genes with elevated expression were related to the ErbB2/3 signaling pathway. Inhibition of either ErbB2 with lapatinib as a tyrosine kinase inhibitor or ErbB3 with TX1-85-1 or siRNAs arrested cell proliferation, inhibited the in vitro tumorigenicity, and lead to loss of stemness in the converting cells. The self-renewal and tube formation abilities of cells were also abolished while CD24 and Oct3/4 levels were reduced, and the MAPK pathway was overactivated. This study shows a potential involvement of the ErbB2/ErbB3 pathway in CSC generation and could lead to new insight into the mechanism of tumorigenesis and the way of cancer prevention. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Informa UK Limited Acta Medica Okayama 0967-0882 30 1 2022 Transatlantic connections in John McGahern’s The Leavetaking 65 81 EN Brian Fox Faculty of Letters, Okayama University John McGahern is most often regarded as an artist of the local or the “self-enclosed world”, as Declan Kiberd puts it. His works explore the lives and loves of characters in settings that correspond closely with the localities of McGahern’s youth in the north-west of Ireland. Accordingly, the themes of his work are often aligned with those of other “provincial” Irish realists, in Kavanagh’s sense of the word: religion, exile, and local identities or selves. This paper, however, focuses on instances where McGahern contrasts the self with the non-self in distinct national-cultural terms. Specifically, in The Leavetaking, as well as the short stories “Doorways” and “Bank Holiday”, he introduces American characters (women in all three cases) as much, it would seem, to provide the spark of a love-interest for those stories’ drifting male protagonists as to provide a commentary on Ireland by way of comparison with America and American perceptions of Ireland. In doing so, McGahern deploys a transatlantic vocabulary of circulation and movement that reflects the openness of his enclosed locality to the non-local, the self to the non-self. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Springer International Publishing Acta Medica Okayama 0302-9743 12835 2021 (Short Paper) Evidence Collection and Preservation System with Virtual Machine Monitoring 64 73 EN Toru Nakamura KDDI Research, Inc. Hiroshi Ito Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Shinsaku Kiyomoto KDDI Research, Inc. Toshihiro Yamauchi Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University In a system audit and verification, it is important to securely collect and preserve evidence of execution environments, execution processes, and program execution results. Evidence-based verification of program processes ensures their authenticity; for example, the processes include no altered/infected program library. This paper proposes a solution for collection of evidence on program libraries based on Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM). The solution can solve semantic gap by obtaining library file path names. This paper also shows a way to obtain hash values of library files from a guest OS. Furthermore, this paper provides examples of evidence on program xecution and the overhead of the solution. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

American Chemical Society (ACS) Acta Medica Okayama 2637-6105 4 1 2021 Multilayer Poly(ionic liquid) Microcapsules Prepared by Sequential Phase Separation and Subsequent Photopolymerization in Ternary Emulsion Droplets 348 356 EN Takaichi Watanabe Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1, Tsushima-naka, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8530, Japan Yuka Yasuhara Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1, Tsushima-naka, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8530, Japan Tsutomu Ono Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1, Tsushima-naka, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8530, Japan We report a simple microfluidic process to prepare multilayer poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) microcapsules via sequential liquid-liquid phase separation within ternary emulsion droplets followed by the photopolymerization of ionic liquid (IL) monomerrich phases. The emulsion droplets, consisting of a hydrophobic IL monomer, water, and　N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) are first formed in a microfluidic device, and the droplets are then carried by a continuous aqueous phase. Subsequently, DMF diffuses from the droplets into the continuous aqueous phase, resulting in the sequential internal phase separation of the IL-rich and water-rich phases, generating multilayer emulsion droplets comprising alternating IL-rich and water-rich phases. The number of droplet layers was controlled from one to five by varying the initial composition of the dispersed phase. Furthermore, in the conditions where higher-order emulsion droplets were formed, the time scale between the onset of phase separation and the formation of each layer became shorter. Additionally, the IL-rich phases in the multilayer emulsion droplets were easily solidified via photopolymerization, resulting in PILs microcapsules with multilayer structures. Anion exchange of the obtained PILs microcapsules effectuated their transition from a hydrophobic to a hydrophilic nature, resulting in PILs microcapsules with diverse swelling properties and PILs layers permeability across various solvents. We believe that the sequential phase separation system observed in the ternary emulsion droplets can pave the way for the design of PILs-based colloidal materials with thermodynamically non-equilibrium structures, thereby extending their application in functional materials. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Edinburgh University Press Acta Medica Okayama 0021-1427 51 2 2021 ‘All sorts of wonderful impossibilities’: Tracing the Genesis of John McGahern’s ‘Doorways’ 343 359 EN Brian Fox Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Okayama University It is well known by now that John McGahern was a scrupulous reviser of his own work, even if this insight into his compositional methods has not been accompanied by a substantial body of research on the archive and the revisions themselves. This essay aims to address this anomaly by focusing on the genetic evolution of McGahern's short story ‘Doorways’. Specifically, it will concentrate on the earliest handwritten drafts when the work is at its most provisional. The consensus view of McGahern's writing practices is of an artist committed to ideals of Flaubertian perfectionism, but implicit in this view is a bias towards the more granular work of late-stage refinement. The approach this essay takes shows McGahern at his most distant from the Flaubertian perfectionist that he is best known as, thus opening up new ways to reconsider how those works achieve their distinctive appearance of refined delicacy and simplicity. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Elsevier Ltd. Acta Medica Okayama 1882-7616 57 2021 Outer membrane vesicles of Porphyromonas gingivalis: Novel communication tool and strategy 138 146 EN Hirohiko Okamura Department of Oral Morphology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Katsuhiko Hirota Department of Medical Hygiene, Dental Hygiene Course, Kochi Gakuen College Kaya Yoshida Department of Oral Healthcare Education, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School Yao Weng Department of Oral Morphology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Yuhan He Department of Oral Morphology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Noriko Shiotsu Comprehensive Dental Clinic, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama University Mika Ikegame Department of Oral Morphology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Yoko Uchida-Fukuhara Department of Oral Morphology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Airi Tanai Department of Oral Morphology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Jiajie Guo Department of Oral Morphology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been recognized as a universal method of cellular communications and are reportedly produced in bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes. Bacterial EVs are often called "Outer Membrane Vesicles" (OMVs) as they were the result of a controlled blebbing of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria such as Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis). Bacterial EVs are natural messengers, implicated in intra-and inter-species cell-to-cell communication among microorganism populations present in microbiota. Bacteria can incorporate their pathogens into OMVs; the content of OMVs differs, depending on the type of bacteria. The production of distinct types of OMVs can be mediated by different factors and routes. A recent study highlighted OMVs ability to carry crucial molecules implicated in immune modulation, and, nowadays, they are considered as a way to communicate and transfer messages from the bacteria to the host and vice versa. This review article focuses on the current understanding of OMVs produced from major oral bacteria, P. gingivalis: generation, characteristics, and contents as well as the involvement in signal transduction of host cells and systemic diseases. Our recent study regarding the action of P. gingivalis OMVs in the living body is also summarized. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Wiley Acta Medica Okayama 0022-0477 109 11 2021 The eco‐evolutionary dynamics of prior selfing rates promote coexistence without niche partitioning under conditions of reproductive interference 3916 3928 EN Koki Katsuhara Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University Kobe Yuuya Tachiki Department of Biological Sciences Tokyo Metropolitan University Tokyo Japan Ryosuke Iritani Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program (iTHEMS) RIKEN Wako Saitama Japan Atushi Ushimaru Graduate School of Human Development and Environment Kobe University Kobe Japan 1. Pollinator-mediated reproductive interference can occur when two or more plant species share the same pollinators. Recent studies have suggested that prior autonomous selfing mitigates reproductive interference, potentially facilitating coexistence even in the absence of pollination niche partitioning (i.e. the pre-emptive selfing hypothesis). However, whether the evolution of prior selfing promotes coexistence, in the context of the eco-evolutionary dynamics of population size, selfing rates and inbreeding depression, remains poorly understood. 2. We constructed an individual-based model to examine the conditions under which the evolution of prior selfing promotes coexistence in the context of mutual reproductive interference. In the model, two plant species compete by way of mutual reproductive interference, and both have the potential to evolve the capacity for prior autonomous selfing. We expected that purging of deleterious mutations might result in evolutionary rescue, assuming that the strength of inbreeding depression declines as the population selfing rate increases; this would enable inferior competitors to maintain population density through the evolution of prior selfing. 3. Our simulation demonstrated that evolution of prior selfing may promote coexistence, whereas reproductive interference in the absence of such evolution results in competitive exclusion. We found that lower pollinator availability is likely to favour rapid evolutionary shifts to higher prior selfing rates, thereby neutralising the negative effects of reproductive interference in both species. When the strength of inbreeding depression decreased with an increase in the population-level selfing rate, moderate pollinator availability resulted in long-term coexistence in which relative abundance-dependent selection on the prior selfing rate served to intermittently maintain the population density of the inferior competitor. 4. Synthesis. We demonstrate that the evolution of prior selfing may increase population growth rates of inferior competitors and may consequently promote long-term coexistence via an evolutionary rescue. This constitutes a novel mechanism explaining the co-evolutionary coexistence of closely related plant species without niche partitioning, and is consistent with recent studies reporting that closely related species with mixed mating systems can co-occur sympatrically, even under conditions of mutual reproductive interference. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Information Processing Society of Japan Acta Medica Okayama 1882-6652 26 2018 Access Control Mechanism to Mitigate Cordova Plugin Attacks in Hybrid Applications 396 405 EN Naoki Kudo Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Toshihiro Yamauchi Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Thomas H. Austin San Jose State University Hybrid application frameworks such as Cordova are more and more popular to create platform-independent applications (apps) because they provide special APIs to access device resources in a platform-agonistic way. By using these APIs, hybrid apps can access device resources through JavaScript. In this paper, we present a novel app-repackaging attack that repackages hybrid apps with malicious code; this code can exploit Cordova's plugin interface to steal and tamper with device resources. We address this attack and cross-site scripting attacks against hybrid apps. Since these attacks need to use plugins to access device resources, we refer to both of these attacks as Cordova plugin attacks. We further demonstrate a defense against Cordova plugin attacks through the use of a novel runtime access control mechanism that restricts access based on the mobile user's judgement. Our mechanism is easy to introduce to existing Cordova apps, and allows developers to produce apps that are resistant to Cordova plugin attacks. Moreover, we evaluate the effectiveness and performance of our mechanism. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

IEEE Acta Medica Okayama 1550-445X 2017 Access Control for Plugins in Cordova-Based Hybrid Applications 1063 1069 EN Naoki Kudo Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Toshihiro Yamauchi Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Thomas H. Austin San Jose State University Hybrid application frameworks such as Cordova allow mobile application (app) developers to create platformindependent apps. The code is written in JavaScript, with special APIs to access device resources in a platform-agnostic way. In this paper, we present a novel app-repackaging attack that repackages hybrid apps with malicious code; this code can exploit Cordova’s plugin interface to tamper with device resources. We further demonstrate a defense against this attack through the use of a novel runtime access control mechanism that restricts access based on the mobile user’s judgement. Our mechanism is easy to introduce to existing Cordova apps, and allows developers to produce apps that are resistant to app-repackaging attacks. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学大学院ヘルスシステム統合科学研究科 Acta Medica Okayama 2436-3227 1 2021 ビジネスケース：しまなみ海道の観光資源化 21 28 EN Hikari Nakao Japan Broadcasting Corporation Daiji Fujii Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University 10.18926/interdisciplinary/61887 The Shimanami Kaido Expressway was visioned as a national project in the early 1970s after two tragic maritime accidents in the Setouchi Inner Sea. Since the express way connecting several islands between Hiroshima and Ehime prefecture was placed in use in 1999, it has always been a valuable means of transportation for islanders and commuters to date. In addition, with the proactive efforts made by local governments, such as Imabari City, Onomichi City, let alone with the central and prefectural governments, it has come to be acknowledged to be a sanctuary for sport cyclists. Eventually, it attracts attentions from all over Japan as a successful benchmark for both businesspeople as well as policy makers who are interested in destination management practices as part of promotion policies of reginal economies. This eventual success, however, had not been envisioned as such for a long time since the commencement of its public usage. It would rather seem that the plan had taken on its shape after a long period of many twists and turns. Furthermore, while local governments have been closely cooperating with different types of stakeholders including the actual islanders to promote the development plans, their ways of thinking are still far from unanimous. The purpose of this article is to provide business and policy students with materials that draw lessons for viewing lengthy socioeconomic processes like this case which eventually converted a nation-level, large-scale infrastructure development plan into an area-specific destination management project. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 11 2021 子どもの主体的な身体表現と多様な動きを引き出すリトミックの保育実践研究（第二報）―保育施設における４･５歳児学級の事例を中心にして― 211 223 EN Saori KOTAKE Minan Manmaru childcare center Noriko BABA The Department of Childhood Education, The Faculty of Childhood Education, Kurashiki Sakuyo University Kei TAKAHASHI The Major of Child Education, The Department of Music, Sakuyo Junior College of Music Yuzo WATANABE Minan Manmaru childcare center Toshiyuki TAKAHASHI Graduate School of Education，Okayama University 10.18926/CTED/61575 保育におけるリトミックでは，近年，音楽領域に限らない多様な学びの獲得が期待されている。保育施設における４･５歳児学級の事例を中心に考察した結果，「音楽を体感する力」「音楽への興味の高まり」「注意して聴く力」「自分で考えて表現する力」「協調性」「集中力」「即時反応力」「リズム感」「感性」の育ちが確認できた。保育におけるリトミックは，表現教育の一環として採り入れると同時に，体系的･包括的なカリキュラムを構成することが重要である。また，子どもの主体的な身体表現と多様な動きを引き出すためには，保育者自身がリトミックを純粋に楽しむことが必要不可欠であり，そのためには，ある程度の専門的な知識と技術が求められる。例えば，音楽的要素によって変化する音楽の印象を感じ取る感性や，保育におけるリトミックの題材となり得るものを身体表現化することに慣れ，多様で柔軟な動きができるようになっておく必要があるだろう。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 11 2021 人間関係力を育む保育者養成教育の実践－心理教育“サクセスフル・セルフ”保育者養成版の作成，実施と評価－ 165 178 EN Yumi KATO Department of Early Childhood Care and Education, Niimi University Mikayo ANDO Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Okayama University 10.18926/CTED/61572 保育者養成大学の学生が保育現場の実情を知り，職務上の人間関係のあり方について実践的に学ぶことができるようにするため，心理教育プログラム“サクセスフル・セルフ” 保育者養成版を作成後，四年制の保育者養成課程 1 年生 47 名を対象として前半のレッスンを実施し，その内容や実施方法，効果について検討した。学生の記述内容から，本プログラムは分かりやすく役立つ内容になっていることが示唆され，学生の自己・他者理解に繫がり，人との関わり方について考える機会となったことが窺えた。プログラム実施前後の質問紙調査の結果，｢対応のスキル｣｢自己コントロールに関する自己効力感｣等の心理社会的要因の数値に変化は見られたものの，プログラムの効果については，今後さらに詳細な検討が必要だと考えられる。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 11 2021 性的マイノリティに関する授業が性的マイノリティへの知識や受容感に及ぼす影響 : 性的マイノリティに関する授業の前後で 75 88 EN Yukina NODA Student at the Graduate School of Education, Okayama University Tsuyoshi YAMADA Graduate School of Urban Social and Cultural Studies, Yokohama City University Iori OHMORI Graduate School of Education, Okayama University 10.18926/CTED/61566 本研究の目的は，性的マイノリティへの関心やレディネスが備わっていない場合であっても授業を受けることにより性的マイノリティへの受容感や知識及び自身の知識に対する自信が変化するかどうかを明らかにすることである。方法は，教員志望の学生を対象に 100分の授業を実施した。調査項目は，性的マイノリティに関する知識量および正答確信度と同性愛者受容感尺度であった。結果は，授業を受けることで，有意に性的マイノリティに関する知識量が増え，同性愛者への受容感が高まることが分かった。しかし，受容感に対する授業の効果量は僅かであった。正答確信度に関しては，授業前は，誤った知識をもっている人ほど自分の知識に自信をもっていたが，授業後は，正しい知識を持っている人ほど自分の知識に自信を持っているという正の相関へ転じた。以上の結果から，性的マイノリティに対する受容感を高める効果的な授業の方法を模索していく必要があると考えられた。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学大学院文化科学研究科 Acta Medica Okayama 1880-9162 20 2021 岡山県総社市におけるオンライン地域日本語教室の試み : 地域日本語教育における新たな可能性の模索 1 19 EN Yasue NAKATO 10.18926/61537 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学環境理工学部 Acta Medica Okayama 13419099 26 1 2021 散水によるアスファルト上の暑熱環境緩和効果 7 10 EN Toshitsugu MOROIZUMI Naoya ITO Takeshi MIURA In this study, water was sprinkled on the asphalt surface during the hottest hours of the day using a sprinkler, and the effect was experimentally verified. An air temperature, a humidity, a ground surface temperature, and a globe temperature which is radiant heat from the ground were measured, and using these measurements, WBGT (Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature), which is an index of thermal stress on the human body, was calculated. In this way, we investigated not only the climate mitigation effect but also the mitigation effect of the thermal environment felt by the human body. As a result, the following points were clarified in this study: 1) During sprinkling, the air temperature, the black globe temperature, and the WBGT were lower in the sprinkled area than in the controlled area, and the wet-bulb temperature hardly changed. 2) Focusing on the amount of change after watering compared to before watering, the air temperature, the globe temperature, and the WBGT decreased, and the wet-bulb temperature hardly changed. 3) In the sprinkled area, when the WBGT value just before watering is higher than that of the strict caution (WBGT is 28°C or higher), it drops to a level one rank lower, and when the WBGT value just before watering is warning (WBGT value is 25°C or higher), it was almost no change. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Routledge Acta Medica Okayama 1360-3116 27 11 2021 A critical analysis of court decision on mainstream school attendance of a child with medical care needs in Japan: a long way towards inclusive education 1257 1271 EN Munehisa Yoshitoshi Faculty of Education, Okayama University Kiriko Takahashi Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa This paper begins by providing a history of Japanese law pertaining to special education and its change towards a more inclusive education with the ratification of United Nations Conventions of the Rights of People with Disabilities. With the changes in laws, more children with constant medical care needs in Japan have the opportunity to attend mainstream schools. The recent court case, Kosuge v. Kanagawa prefecture and Kawasaki city, ruled against a child with medical care needs to attend mainstream school and made the judgment that a special needs school (tokubetsushien gakkō) is the appropriate placement for the child based on the child’s disability type and degree of disability rather than needs and regardless of the wishes of the child’s parents. This paper explores the case judgement and discusses where Japanese special education laws fall short similar to that of the US system based on Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. We suggest the need to keep inclusion as the basic human rights aligned with the Article 24 of the UNCRPD rather than focusing on the continuum of education principle in IDEA, and operationalise the law into practice to make integration of children with disabilities, including children with constant medical care needs, into mainstream education schools. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

MDPI Acta Medica Okayama 1422-0067 22 4 2021 Treatment of Oxidative Stress with Exosomes in Myocardial Ischemia 1729 EN Yun Liu Department of Cardiovascular Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Mengxue Wang Department of Cardiovascular Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Yin Liang Department of Cardiovascular Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Chen Wang Department of Cardiovascular Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Keiji Naruse Department of Cardiovascular Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Ken Takahashi Department of Cardiovascular Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University A thrombus in a coronary artery causes ischemia, which eventually leads to myocardial infarction (MI) if not removed. However, removal generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), which causes ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury that damages the tissue and exacerbates the resulting MI. The mechanism of I/R injury is currently extensively understood. However, supplementation of exogenous antioxidants is ineffective against oxidative stress (OS). Enhancing the ability of endogenous antioxidants may be a more effective way to treat OS, and exosomes may play a role as targeted carriers. Exosomes are nanosized vesicles wrapped in biofilms which contain various complex RNAs and proteins. They are important intermediate carriers of intercellular communication and material exchange. In recent years, diagnosis and treatment with exosomes in cardiovascular diseases have gained considerable attention. Herein, we review the new findings of exosomes in the regulation of OS in coronary heart disease, discuss the possibility of exosomes as carriers for the targeted regulation of endogenous ROS generation, and compare the advantages of exosome therapy with those of stem-cell therapy. Finally, we explore several miRNAs found in exosomes against OS. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 75 1 2021 Needle Tract Ablation in Liver Tissue Using a Cryoprobe Combined with an Electrosurgical Device: Influence of ex vivo and in vivo Animal Models 9 14 EN Hideo Gobara Division of Medical Informatics, Okayama University Hospital Akira Yamamoto Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine Toshiyuki Komakic Department of Radiology, Okayama University Hospital Toshiaki Kitayama Department of Radiology, Otemae Hospital Jun Sakurai Center for Innovative Clinical Medicine, Okayama University Hospital Toshihiro Iguchi Department of Radiology, Okayama University Hospital Yusuke Matsui Department of Radiology, Okayama University Hospital Mayu Uka Department of Radiology, Okayama University Hospital Koji Tomita Department of Radiology, Okayama University Hospital Takao Hiraki Department of Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Susumu Kanazawa Department of Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Original Article 10.18926/AMO/61428 To assess the feasibility of needle tract ablation in liver tissue in ex vivo and in vivo animal models using a cryo-probe and electrosurgical device. The experimental device is made by inserting a cryoprobe through an intro-ducer sheath for insulation, with 2-cm of probe tip projecting out. A beagle liver was punctured by the device, and electric current was applied at 30-W with the electrosurgical knife touching the non-insulated device base. The discolored area of cut surface along the device was evaluated in 5 application-time groups (5 , 10 , 15 , 20, or 25 seconds). An ex vivo experiment was performed to determine an ablation algorithm with an appropriate application time by comparison with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) results. Thereafter, an in vivo experiment was performed to verify the algorithm’s feasibility. In the ex vivo model, the cut surface demonstrated different amounts of discolored area according to the application time. The total discolored area in the 20-seconds group was similar to that by RFA. In the in vivo model, the liver did not bleed, the total discolored area was similar to that ex vivo, and coagulation necrosis was confirmed by photomicrograph. Needle tract ablation can be per-formed using the experimental device and electrosurgical device. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 74 6 2020 Potential of Artificial Intelligence for Estimating Japanese Fetal Weights 483 493 EN Yasunari Miyagi Medical Data Labo Takahito Miyake Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Miyake Clinic Original Article 10.18926/AMO/61207 We developed an artificial intelligence (AI) method for estimating fetal weights of Japanese fetuses based on the gestational weeks and the bi-parietal diameter, abdominal circumference, and femur length. The AI comprised of neural network architecture was trained by deep learning with a dataset that consists of ± 2 standard devia-tion (SD), ± 1.5SD, and ± 0SD categories of the approved standard values of ultrasonic measurements of the fetal weights of Japanese fetuses (Japan Society of Ultrasonics in Medicine [JSUM] data). We investigated the residuals and compared 2 other regression formulae for estimating the fetal weights of Japanese fetuses by t-test and Bland-Altman analyses, respectively. The residuals of the AI for the test dataset that was 12.5% of the JSUM data were 6.4 ± 2.6, −3.8 ± 8.6, and −0.32 ± 6.3 (g) at −2SD, +2SD, and all categories, respectively. The residu-als of another AI method created with all of the JSUM data, of which 20% were randomized validation data, were −1.5 ± 9.4, −2.5 ± 7.3, and −1.1 ± 6.7 (g) for −2SD, +2SD, and all categories, respectively. The residuals of this AI were not different from zero, whereas those of the published formulae differed from zero. Though vali-dation is required, the AI demonstrated potential for generating fetal weights accurately, especially for extreme fetal weights. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Elsevier Acta Medica Okayama 0013-4686 363 2020 Sophisticated rGO synthesis and pre-lithiation unlocking full-cell lithium-ion battery high-rate performances 137257 EN Benoît Denis Louis Campéon Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Yumi Yoshikawa Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Takashi Teranishi Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Yuta Nishina Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University For the application to portable devices and storage of renewable energies, high-performance lithium-ion batteries are in great demand. To this end, the development of high-performance electrode materials has been actively investigated. However, even if new materials exhibit high performance in a simple evaluation, namely half-cell tests, it is often impossible to obtain satisfactory performance with an actual battery (full cell). In this study, the structure of graphene analogs is modified in various ways to change crystallinity, disorder, oxygen content, electrical conductivity, and specific surface area. These graphene analogs are evaluated as negative electrodes for lithium-ion batteries, and we found reduced graphene oxide prepared by combination of chemical reduction and thermal treatment was the optimum. In addition, a full cell is fabricated by combining it with LiCoO2 modified with BaTiO3, which is applicable to high-speed charge–discharge cathode material developed in our previous research. In general, pre-lithiation is performed for the anode when assembling full cells. In this study, we optimized a "direct pre-lithiation" method in which the electrode and lithium foil were in direct contact before assembling a full cell, and created a lithium-ion battery with an output of 293 Wh kg−1 at 8,658 W kg−1. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Cambridge University Press Acta Medica Okayama 2048-7703 9 2020 A study for 2-D indoor localization using multiple leaky coaxial cables e20 EN Junjie Zhu Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Pengcheng Hou Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Yafei Hou Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Satoshi Denno Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Minoru Okada Division of Information Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology Indoor localization technology, which can provide the location information of the target object or stochastic things, is becoming essential requirement for many applications and services such as Internet-of-Things (IoT), real-time control in the development of Fifth-generation (5G) technology. Leaky coaxial cable which can be used as antennas is able to detect the location of the user in a simple way due to its potential property. In this paper, we proposes a simple method to improve the localization accuracy of 2-D indoor localization using multiple LCX cables. In addition, we also evaluate the channel capacity loss due to the localization error of the LCX-MIMO using our proposed method. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Springer Acta Medica Okayama 1749-799X 15 1 2020 Short-term outcomes of mirogabalin in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain: a retrospective study 191 EN Tomoko Tetsunaga Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Tomonori Tetsunaga Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Keiichiro Nishida Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Haruo Misawa Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Tomoyuki Takigawa Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Kentaro Yamane Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Hironori Tsuji Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Yoshitaka Takei Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Kurashiki Municipal Hospital Toshifumi Ozaki Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Background Mirogabalin, which is approved for the treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain in Japan, is a ligand for the α2δ subunit of voltage-gated calcium channels. Both pregabalin and mirogabalin act as nonselective ligands at the α2δ-1 and α2δ-2 subunits. Mirogabalin has a unique binding profile and long duration of action. Pregabalin has been reported to produce intolerable adverse effects in some patients. This study investigated outcomes associated with mirogabalin administration in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain who ceased treatment with pregabalin. Methods We retrospectively assessed peripheral neuropathic pain using the neuropathic pain screening questionnaire (NeP score) in 187 patients (58 men, 129 women) who were treated with mirogabalin. All patients had switched from pregabalin to mirogabalin due to lack of efficacy or adverse events. Differences in the treatment course (i.e., numeric rating scale (NRS) scores) were compared using one-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc tests. Results The mean age of the patients was 72.3 years (range, 30–94 years), and the mean duration of disease was 37 months (range, 3–252 months). After treatment with mirogabalin for 1 week, NRS scores significantly decreased compared with baseline and continued to decrease over time. After 8 weeks, NRS scores improved by ≥ 30% from baseline in 113 patients (69.3%). Twenty-four patients (12.8%) stopped mirogabalin treatment due to adverse events. Somnolence (26.7%), dizziness (12.3%), edema (5.9%), and weight gain (0.5%) were noted as adverse events of mirogabalin. Conclusions The results of this investigation indicate that mirogabalin is safe and effective for reducing peripheral neuropathic pain. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Nature Acta Medica Okayama 2045-2322 10 1 2020 Controlling Electronic States of Few-walled Carbon Nanotube Yarn via Joule-annealing and p-type Doping Towards Large Thermoelectric Power Factor 7307 EN May Thu Zar Myint Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Takeshi Nishikawa Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Kazuki Omoto Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Hirotaka Inoue Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Yoshifumi Yamashita Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Aung Ko Ko Kyaw Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology Yasuhiko Hayashi Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Flexible, light-weight and robust thermoelectric (TE) materials have attracted much attention to convert waste heat from low-grade heat sources, such as human body, to electricity. Carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn is one of the potential TE materials owing to its narrow band-gap energy, high charge carrier mobility, and excellent mechanical property, which is conducive for flexible and wearable devices. Herein, we propose a way to improve the power factor of CNT yarns fabricated from few-walled carbon nanotubes (FWCNTs) by two-step method; Joule-annealing in the vacuum followed by doping with p-type dopants, 2,3,5,6-tetrafluo-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4TCNQ). Numerical calculations and experimental results explain that Joule-annealing and doping modulate the electronic states (Fermi energy level) of FWCNTs, resulting in extremely large thermoelectric power factor of 2250 mu Wm(-1) K-2 at a measurement temperature of 423K. Joule-annealing removes amorphous carbon on the surface of the CNT yarn, which facilitates doping in the subsequent step, and leads to higher Seebeck coefficient due to the transformation from (semi) metallic to semiconductor behavior. Doping also significantly increases the electrical conductivity due to the effective charge transfers between CNT yarn and F4TCNQ upon the removal of amorphous carbon after Joule-annealing. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

International Academic Forum Acta Medica Okayama 2187-0616 6 1 2019 A Mechanism Linking Discrimination, Conflict, and Switching Behaviour in Bicultural Individuals 29 40 EN Tomoko Tanaka Okayama University JungHui Lee Kanagawa Dental University This study focuses on the switching behaviour exhibited by Zainichi Koreans (ethnic Koreans living in Japan who have effectively managed to maintain their Korean nationality and have been granted the status of tokubetsu eijusha [“special” permanent residents] by the Japanese government). In the present article, the term “switching” refers to the alteration of behaviour according to different cultural contexts. This study aimed to identify the mechanism underlying links between perceived discrimination, internal conflict, and switching. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 184 Zainichi Koreans. Path analyses showed that discrimination had a significant effect on conflict (β = .31, p < .001), and that conflict enhanced switching significantly (β = .25, p < .001). In addition, discrimination directly exerted a significant, positive effect on switching (β = .25, p < .001). These findings suggest that switching may ultimately be caused by discrimination on the part of the host’s majority society or individuals. This study’s findings contribute to the theory that switching is a way for immigrants to protect themselves if they perceive discrimination from – or feel conflicted toward – the society in which they live. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 74 4 2020 Hospital Evacuation Assistance from Public and Private Resources: Lessons Learned from the 2018 Western Japan Floods 359 364 EN Mototaka Inaba Department of Emergency, Critical Care, and Disaster Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hiromichi Naito Department of Emergency, Critical Care, and Disaster Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Tomoyoshi Muramatsu Mabi Memorial Hospital Taihei Yamada Department of Emergency, Critical Care, and Disaster Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Taizo Sakata Peace Winds Japan Atsunori Nakao Department of Emergency, Critical Care, and Disaster Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Case Report 10.18926/AMO/60375 During major flooding in June/July 2018, the Mabi Memorial Hospital in Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan was flooded and patients were stranded in the hospital. Peace Winds Japan, a non-governmental organization, collaborated with the Japanese Disaster Medical Assistance Team and Self-Defense Force Public to transport 8 critical patients from the hospital by helicopter. Ultimately, 54 patients and hospital staff members were safely evacuated. The evacuation was accomplished without any casualties, despite the severe conditions. Public and private organizations can work together and continue to seek ways to collaborate and cooperate in disaster settings. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Wiley Acta Medica Okayama 1022-1352 220 9 2019 Rapid Synthesis of Poly(methyl methacrylate) Particles with High Molecular Weight by Soap‐Free Emulsion Polymerization Using Water‐in‐Oil Slug Flow 1900021 EN Takaichi Watanabe Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Kengo Karita Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Koki Tawara Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Takuya Soga Department of Material and Energy Science, Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University Tsutomu Ono Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University flow process for the production of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) particles is proposed by soap‐free emulsion polymerization using a water‐in‐oil (W/O) slug flow in a microreactor. Thin oil films generated around the dispersed aqueous phase of the W/O slug prevent the prepared particles from adhesion to the microchannel wall, enabling the continuous production of PMMA particles without clogging. The effects of the linear flow rate of the slug flow and the addition of ethanol in the dispersed aqueous phase on the polymerization are evaluated. It is found that increasing the linear flow rate of the slug flow or the addition of ethanol in the dispersed aqueous phase results in PMMA particles with high molecular weight (≈1500 kg mol−1) in 20 min reaction time. It is believed that this process would be a promising way to prepare polymer particles with high molecular weight in a short reaction time. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Springer Acta Medica Okayama 0303-402X 298 2020 Flow synthesis of monodisperse micron-sized polymer particles by heterogeneous polymerization using a water-in-oil slug flow with a non-ionic surfactant 1273 1281 EN Takaichi Watanabe Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Kengo Karita Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Tsutomu Ono Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Flow synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate) particles was performed by heterogeneous polymerization of methyl methacrylate using a water-in-oil (W/O) slug flow with or without a non-ionic surfactant in the continuous organic phase. It was found that undesired phenomena in this polymerization system, clogging of the channel and broadening particle size distribution, can occur when growing polymer particles adsorb to the W/O interface during polymerization, and that the addition of non-ionic surfactant to the continuous organic phase prevents the particles from adsorption to the W/O interface and gives monodisperse polymer particles. In addition, it was shown that as the initiator concentration increases, the particle diameter becomes larger, resulting in monodisperse micron-sized polymer particles with 100% monomer conversion at a 120-min reaction time. These results indicated that the heterogeneous polymerization process using a W/O slug flow can be a promising way to continuously prepare monodisperse polymer particles with micron sizes in a short reaction time. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Oxford University Press Acta Medica Okayama 0024-4066 130 1 2020 Genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity in circadian rhythms in an armed beetle, Gnatocerus cornutus (Tenebrionidae) 34 40 EN Kentarou Matsumura Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University Masato S Abe Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, RIKEN Manmohan D Sharma Centre for Ecology and Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter David J Hosken Centre for Ecology and Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter Taishi Yoshii Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Takahisa Miyatake Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University Circadian rhythms, their free-running periods and the power of the rhythms are often used as indicators of biological clocks, and there is evidence that the free-running periods of circadian rhythms are not affected by environmental factors, such as temperature. However, there are few studies of environmental effects on the power of the rhythms, and it is not clear whether temperature compensation is universal. Additionally, genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity in biological clocks are important for understanding the evolution of biological rhythms, but genetic and plastic effects are rarely investigated. Here, we used 18 isofemale lines (genotypes) of Gnatocerus cornutus to assess rhythms of locomotor activity, while also testing for temperature effects. We found that total activity and the power of the circadian rhythm were affected by interactions between sex and genotype or between sex, genotype and temperature. The males tended to be more active and showed greater increases in activity, but this effect varied across both genotypes and temperatures. The period of activity varied only by genotype and was thus independent of temperature. The complicated genotype–sex–environment interactions we recorded stress the importance of investigating circadian activity in more integrated ways. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Public Library of Science Acta Medica Okayama 1932-6203 14 10 2019 Identification of social relation within pedestrian dyads e0223656 EN Zeynep Yucel Department of Computer Science, Okayama University Francesco Zanlungo Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratory, ATR Claudio Feliciani Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology,The University of Tokyo Adrien Gregorj Department of Computer Science, Okayama University Takayuki Kanda Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratory, ATR This study focuses on social pedestrian groups in public spaces and makes an effort to identify the type of social relation between the group members. As a first step for this identification problem, we focus on dyads (i.e. 2 people groups). Moreover, as a mutually exclusive categorization of social relations, we consider the domain-based approach of Bugental, which precisely corresponds to social relations of colleagues, couples, friends and families, and identify each dyad with one of those relations. For this purpose, we use anonymized trajectory data and derive a set of observables thereof, namely, inter-personal distance, group velocity, velocity difference and height difference. Subsequently, we use the probability density functions (pdf) of these observables as a tool to understand the nature of the relation between pedestrians. To that end, we propose different ways of using the pdfs. Namely, we introduce a probabilistic Bayesian approach and contrast it to a functional metric one and evaluate the performance of both methods with appropriate assessment measures. This study stands out as the first attempt to automatically recognize social relation between pedestrian groups. Additionally, in doing that it uses completely anonymous data and proves that social relation is still possible to recognize with a good accuracy without invading privacy. In particular, our findings indicate that significant recognition rates can be attained for certain categories and with certain methods. Specifically, we show that a very good recognition rate is achieved in distinguishing colleagues from leisure-oriented dyads (families, couples and friends), whereas the distinction between the leisure-oriented dyads results to be inherently harder, but still possible at reasonable rates, in particular if families are restricted to parent-child groups. In general, we establish that the Bayesian method outperforms the functional metric one due, probably, to the difficulty of the latter to learn observable pdfs from individual trajectories. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

American Chemical Society Acta Medica Okayama 00027863 140 45 2018 Use of Cyclopropane as C1 Synthetic Unit by Directed Retro- Cyclopropanation with Ethylene Release 15425 15429 EN Asako Sobi Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Takaaki Kobashi Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Kazuhiko Takai Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University Cyclopropanation of alkenes is a well-established textbook reaction for the synthesis of cyclopropanes, where a “high-energy” carbene species is exploited to drive the reaction forward. However, little attention has been focused toward molecular transformations involving the reverse reaction, retro-cyclopropanation (RC). This is because of difficulties associated with both cleaving the two geminal C–C single bonds and exploiting the generated carbenes for further transformations in an efficient and selective manner. Here, we report that a molybdenum-based catalytic system overcomes the above challenges and effects the RC of cyclopropanes bearing a pyridyl group with the release of ethylene (alkene) and the subsequent intramolecular cyclization leading to pyrido[2,1-a]isoindoles. The reaction allows for the uncommon use of cyclopropanes as C1 synthetic units in contrast to most conventional reactions in which cyclopropanes are used as C3 synthetic units. We anticipate that this new strategy will pave the way for C1 cyclopropane chemistry. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

AIP Publishing Acta Medica Okayama 0094-243X 2180 2019 Consideration to Display Operator Support Information to Human Operators under High Mental Pressure 020028 EN Akio Gofuku Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University Operator support systems are extensively studied and developed to support human operators for their activities in especially an abnormal condition of a nuclear power plant. By the advancement of computer technology and artificial intelligence, an operator support system can provide detailed support information based on detailed models and utilizing detailed simulation of plant dynamics and/or complicated inference algorithms. However, human operators may not understand the detailed support information under high mental pressure in an abnormal plant condition. In such a case, it is important how to provide essential and understandable support information. This paper deals with a technique to simplify functional models in order to display operator support information that is generated based on detailed functional models. This paper defines eight cognitive states of human operators from the viewpoint of cognitive abilities of human. In addition, three ways to simplify functional models are identified. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 131 3 2019 医師の働き方改革 165 167 EN Jun Hamada Department of Health Economics and Policy, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 10 2020 ケア的思考の活用による道徳科の授業改善 : 共同的に探求する子供をめざして 215 229 EN Masami Ozaki 10.18926/CTED/58133 「特別の教科道徳」となり，「考え，議論する道徳」への授業の質的転換が求められている。学習指導要領には，道徳科として目指す学びが具体的に示されており，現場の教員にも授業の質を改善するという意識が高まってきた。そこで，子供が共同的に自己のよりよい生き方を探求していくことができる授業となるよう，マシュー・リップマンの提唱する多元的思考アプローチの一つであるケア的思考を重視して道徳科の授業に応用し，授業改善に取り組んだ。筆者が創造的思考，批判的思考を段階的に取り入れてきたこれまでの実践と比較しながら実践を進め，道徳科の授業に，ケア的思考を意識的に取り入れることにより，創造的思考や批判的思考が活性化され，さらには三つの思考が作用し合うことが明らかになった。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Frontiers Media Acta Medica Okayama 1664-462X 10 2020 Novel Insights Into N-Glycan Fucosylation and Core Xylosylation in C. reinhardtii 1686 EN Anne Oltmanns Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster Lara Hoepfner Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster Martin Scholz Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster Karen Zinzius Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster Stefan Schulze Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster Michael Hippler Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (C. reinhardtii) N-glycans carry plant typical beta 1,2-core xylose, alpha 1,3-fucose residues, as well as plant atypical terminal beta 1,4-xylose and methylated mannoses. In a recent study, XylT1A was shown to act as core xylosyltransferase, whereby its action was of importance for an inhibition of excessive Man1A dependent trimming. N-Glycans found in a XylT1A/Man1A double mutant carried core xylose residues, suggesting the existence of a second core xylosyltransferase in C. reinhardtii. To further elucidate enzymes important for N-glycosylation, novel single knockdown mutants of candidate genes involved in the N-glycosylation pathway were characterized. In addition, double, triple, and quadruple mutants affecting already known N-glycosylation pathway genes were generated. By characterizing N-glycan compositions of intact N-glycopeptides from these mutant strains by mass spectrometry, a candidate gene encoding for a second putative core xylosyltransferase (XylT1B) was identified. Additionally, the role of a putative fucosyltransferase was revealed. Mutant strains with knockdown of both xylosyltransferases and the fucosyltransferase resulted in the formation of N-glycans with strongly diminished core modifications. Thus, the mutant strains generated will pave the way for further investigations on how single N-glycan core epitopes modulate protein function in C. reinhardtii. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 10 2020 A Japanese-United States Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program for Special Education Teacher Preparation 165 181 EN Yoshihisa OHTAKE Graduate School of Education, Okayama University Gregory CHEATHAM Department of Special Education, University of Kansas Takayuki TANJI Graduate School of Education, Okayama University 10.18926/CTED/58128 This article delineates a faculty-led study abroad program that has been conducted for 15 years by a special needs education (SNE) teacher preparation program in Japan. A description of the content and context of the program is followed by a series of observations made by study abroad participants during site visits in the United States of America (U.S.). Finally, suggestions are proposed for how participants’ observations may be used to help them review the values and beliefs embedded in SNE practices in Japan in a way that sublates contradicting values and beliefs between the U.S. and Japan as a means of developing better practices in Japan. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学全学教育・学生支援機構 Acta Medica Okayama 2432-9665 4 2019 ZAINICHI KOREANS’ ETHNIC IDENTITIES AND ROLES OF ETHNIC ORGANISATION AND COMMUNITY 11 30 EN Yuuka WICKSTRUM 10.18926/58033 This paper discusses how Zainichi Koreans developed their identities both within and outside the realm of the ethnic community and ethnic organisations. This study uses qualitative multimethods research based on interviews with members and non-members of Zainichi Koirean organisations and field observations. The examination on Zainichi Koirean organisation members mainly concentrates on lived experiences of members from one of the ethnic organisations of Zainichi Koreans, Chongryun. This study finds that although some young Koreans separate themselves from the organisation and the homeland, they remain in the community. Many Chongryun Koreans share a collective ethnic consciousness, which was based on members’ love for the Chongryun schools. While there is an internal division within the community in terms of political views, many members still have a strong sense of group solidarity. On the other hand, the identities of non-member respondents are remarkably diverse. While some of them are assimilated into Japanese society, others retain strong ethnic identities. Their identities are less affected by any ethnic organisations and they rarely share collective memories with other Zainichi Koreans. This study shows that social networks and experiences of ethnic community individuals have a key role in determining their identities and the ways in which they live their lives. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Acta Medica Okayama 0031-6903 139 6 2019 アカデミアにおける実験記録の悩みそれを解決するには 887 890 EN Hiroki Kakuta Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences There is currently a major effort to promote drug discovery in academia as a way to seed new drug development in the pharmaceutical industry. However, there are concerns in industry about the quality of drug candidates generated in academic institutions. These concerns encompass culture and perceptions with respect to intellectual property management, the process of product development, and the reliability of scientific data. Questions about data reliability underscore the particularly serious problem of mistrust in academic research. Therefore, the author became interested in the topic of industry standards for quality assurance (QA) and arranged training workshops at Okayama University on the appropriate methods for recording experimental notes by lecturers involved in QA. The outcomes are presented here. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Brill Academic Publishers Acta Medica Okayama 0005-7959 157 1 2019 Lines selected for different durations of tonic immobility have different leg lengths in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum 17 31 EN Kentarou Matsumura Graduate School of Environmental and life Science, Okayama University Takahisa Miyatake Graduate School of Environmental and life Science, Okayama University Tonic immobility is an adaptive anti-predator behaviour observed in many species. This anti-predator behaviour is often correlated with a species' movement motivation, so a relationship between the duration of tonic immobility and morphological traits supporting movement would be expected. Using the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, we carried out two-way artificial selection for the duration of tonic immobility over more than 43 generations, establishing populations with longer (L) and shorter (S) tonic immobility durations compared to those of a non-selected control (C) population. Here, we investigated differences in walking motivation and leg length between the selected populations. Walking motivation was significantly higher in beetles from the S population than that in those from the L population. Moreover, S-population beetles of both sexes had significantly longer legs than those from L and C populations. The present results suggest the evolution of longer legs in response to selection pressure for a shorter duration of tonic immobility in T. castaneum. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 73 5 2019 “Active Guide” Brochure Reduces Sedentary Behavior of Elderly People: A Randomized Controlled Trial 427 432 EN Yutaka Owari Shikoku Medical College Hiromi Suzuki Department of Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University Nobuyuki Miyatake Department of Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University Original Article 10.18926/AMO/57373 The aim of this study was to examine in a randomized controlled trial how much the sedentary behavior (sitting time) of community-dwelling elderly Japanese subjects decreased as a result of using the “Active Guide” brochure published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (2013) and additional documents related to the benefits of reducing sedentary behavior. A total of 86 elderly people who participated in health-club activities for one year were randomly allocated to two groups. Subjects in the intervention group received explanations of the importance of physical activity using the “Active Guide” brochure (n=42) and additional documents, while subjects in the control group did not (n=44). Physical activity was measured using a triaxial accelerometer for two weeks at baseline and again after one year. After one year of intervention, the difference in the sedentary behavior rate from baseline was −2.2% for the intervention group (n=40) and +2.5% for controls (n=40) (Welch’s t-test, p=0.007). Use of the “Active Guide” brochure and additional documents may reduce the sedentary behavior of community dwelling elderly people in Japan. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

兵庫教育大学大学院連合学校教育学研究科 Acta Medica Okayama 2433-1791 20 2019 性別違和をもつ患者の診療録から見える学校生活場面での困難さ 39 48 EN Okayama University hospital Gender Center Okayama University A school should be a place where every child can feel comfortable and safe. We aimed to shed light upon difficulties in school life in children with gender dysphoria (GD) and find a way to support them. We extracted the episodes in school life from the medical records of 59 patients with GD. They suffered from using gender segregated bookbags, school uniforms, swimming wears, and bathrooms. Sex education was not enough for them to understand GD. Children with male-to-female GD were bullied at school more often than those with female-to-male GD. Teachers should take note of children with GD, and should provide necessary supports in their school life, including the facilities and their relationships with their peers. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 73 4 2019 Dynamic Reorganization of Microtubule and Glioma Invasion 285 297 EN Yoshihiro Otani Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Tomotsugu Ichikawa Department of Neurosurgery, Kagawa Prefectural Central Hospital Kazuhiko Kurozumi Department of Neurological Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Isao Date Department of Neurological Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Review 10.18926/AMO/56930 Gliomas are characterized as highly diffuse infiltrating tumors, and currently available treatments such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are unfeasible or show limited efficacy against these tumors. Recent genetic and epigenetic analyses of glioma have revealed increasing evidence of the role of driver genetic alterations in glioma development and led to the identification of prognostic factors. Despite these findings, the survival rates of glioma patients remain low, and alternative treatments and novel targets are needed. Recent studies identified neural stem cells as the possible origin of gliomas, and some evidence has revealed shared functions and mechanisms between glioma cells and neurons, also supporting their similarity. The cytoskeleton plays important roles in the migration of normal cells as well as cancer cells. Recent reports have described a role for microtubules, a component of the cytoskeleton, in glioma invasion. Notably, several factors that regulate microtubule functions, such as microtubule-associated proteins, plus-end tracking proteins, or motor proteins, are upregulated in glioma tissues compared with normal tissue, and upregulation of these factors is associated with high invasiveness of glioma cells. In this review, we describe the mechanism of microtubules in glioma invasion and discuss the possibility of microtubule-targeted therapy to inhibit glioma invasion. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 72 6 2018 Computed Tomography Findings for Diagnosing Follicular Thyroid Neoplasms 577 581 EN Takuma Makino Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Yorihisa Orita Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kumamoto University Tomoyasu Tachibana Department of Otolaryngology, Himeji Red Cross Hospital Hidenori Marunaka Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kentaro Miki Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Naoki Akisada Department of Otolaryngology, Okayama Red Cross Hospital Yusuke Akagi Department of Otolaryngology, Okayama Medical Center Yoshiyuki Usui Department of Surgery, Okayama Medical Center Yasuharu Sato Department of Pathology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Tadashi Yoshino Department of Pathology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kazunori Nishizaki Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Original Article 10.18926/AMO/56375 Since no diagnostic method has been established to distinguish follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) from follicular thyroid adenoma (FTA), surgery has been the only way to reach a diagnosis of follicular neoplasm. Here we investigated the computed tomography (CT) features of follicular neoplasms, toward the goal of being able to identify specific CT features allowing the preoperative differentiation of FTC from FTA. We retrospectively analyzed the cases of 205 patients who underwent preoperative CT of the neck and were histopathologically diagnosed with FTC (n=31) or FTA (n=174) after surgery between January 2002 and June 2016 at several hospitals in Japan. In each of these 205 cases, non-enhanced and contrast-enhanced CT images were obtained, and we analyzed the CT features. On univariate analysis, inhomogeneous features of tumor lesions on contrast-enhanced CT were more frequently observed in FTC than in FTA (p=0.0032). A multivariate analysis identified inhomogeneous features of tumor lesions on contrast-enhanced CT images as an independent variable indicative of FTC (p=0.0023). CT thus offers diagnostic assistance in distinguishing FTC from FTA. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山実験動物研究会 Acta Medica Okayama 34 2018 無腸動物Praesagittifera naikaiensis における細胞骨格要素 21 27 EN Risa Ikeda Graduate School of Education, Okayama University Chiho Fujiwara Graduate School of Education, Okayama University Mayuko Hamada Ushimado Marine Institute, Faculty of Science, Okayama University Tatsuya Sakamoto Ushimado Marine Institute, Faculty of Science, Okayama University Noboru Saito Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University Motonori Ando Graduate School of Education, Okayama University Acoel flatworms can move in a variety of ways such as muscular and ciliary movements via cytoskeletal elements and their neural regulations. However, those locomotive mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, we examined the distribution of cytoskeletal elements including filamentous actin (F-actin) and tubulin, and the neuroanatomical organization in an acoelomorph worm, Praesagittifera naikaiensis (P. naikaiensis). Video microscopy revealed the elongation/contraction and the bending/rotation processes, and the ciliary gliding movement of P. naikaiensis. Histochemical and morphological analysis demonstrated that F-actin networks of inner longitudinal and outer circular muscle fibers were positioned along the entire surface of the body, and that the average distance between the circular muscle fibers in the contracted organism was decreased in the anterior region compared with that in the elongated organism. Electron microscopy showed dense bodies on the muscle cells of P. naikaiensis, which indicates that those muscle cells have the appearance of vertebrate smooth muscle cells. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that -tubulin-positive signals on the ciliary microtubules had close contact with the F-actin network, and that neurite bundles labelled with anti dSap47 antibody as a neuronal marker run along the anterior-posterior body axis. These results indicate that the well-organized cytoskeletal elements and their neural control systems are preserved in P. naikaiensis, and that their mechanisms involved in those regulation systems are similar to those vertebrate systems. Further studies are needed to clarify the physiological mechanisms underlying the muscular and ciliary movements in P. naikaiensis. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

日本国際バカロレア教育学会 Acta Medica Okayama 1 2017 岡山大学の「グローバル・ディスカバリー・プログラム」とIB教育 : 文化人類学者としての日米での取り組みへの「振り返り」 10 17 EN Haeng-ja Chung Okayama University As a cultural anthropologist, I discovered the affinity between my teaching philosophy and IB education that values reflexivity. Educating students to become reflective critical thinkers is also the shared goal of the liberal arts colleges I had taught at for over a decade in the United States. 　I decided to come back to Japan from the United States in 2015 when I was given an opportunity to pursue such education in a more affordable way at a Japanese national university. Due to the nature of labor-intensive and quality education, both liberal arts colleges and IB schools often ask high tuitions. Compare to the expensive private liberal arts colleges in the United States, the tuition of a Japanese national university is more affordable. 　As the first Japanese national university, which started the special entrance examination for students with IB Diploma, Okayama University started the new English-medium college-degree program called Discovery Program for Global Learners (Hereafter, Discovery Program) in 2017. The program pursues diversity and social innovation for global sustainability while offering affordable higher education in English (and in Japanese for those with Japanese proficiency). 　In this paper, I compare and contrast U.S. higher education (liberal arts college in particular) and the Discovery Program at Okayama University while paying attention to IB Learner Profile Attributes : Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principles, Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-Takers, Balanced, and Reflective. Some (if not all) elements of the profile are shared with many U.S. liberal arts colleges’ mission statements. As one of the founding members of the Discovery Program and the first faculty member hired for this program, I have been trying to incorporate many of the above elements into the Discovery Program. 　In order to encourage students to become knowledgeable, open-minded, caring, balanced, and reflective inquirers, thinkers, communicators, principled, and risk-takers, institutional environment is crucial. No matter how much students are taught to become the above type of person, if faculty, staff, and administrators behave otherwise, students get confused, lose trust in them, or both. Even if the faculty, staff, and administrators try to meet the expectations, if the institution does not support such efforts, the outcome is compromised. I hope that educational institutions as well as teaching and administrative staff make efforts to embody the persons of principles who are knowledgeable, open-minded, caring, balanced, and reflective inquirers, thinkers, communicators, and risk-takers. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 8 2018 これからの道徳性を問う : 教育哲学の視点から考える新たな道徳性への追求 1 14 EN Kiyohiro Skuda Waseda University institute of teacher education Yoshikazu Nakayama Okayama University whole school education and student support organization 10.18926/CTED/55803 戦後の近代化と共に進む、非人道的な課題に及ぶ道徳性の著しい衰退により、今日の日本では、真の道徳性について見直す時にきている。本稿では、「道徳性」とはどのようなことなのか、現在の大学生によるアンケート調査をもとに、今日、成人を遂げ、新たに社会に巣立とうとしている大学生の真意を探ると共に、今後の課題と学校教育における道徳教育の在り方について検討した。　その結果、今日の大学生における道徳性と今後の課題が見出され、「生命への尊重」「規範意識」「信頼関係」などが今後の道徳性として重要であることが示唆された。なお、これらの道徳性について、歴史上の思想家（教育哲学者）の理論をもとに検証し、今後の未来に必要な道徳性について明らかとした。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

American Institute of Physics Acta Medica Okayama 0003-6951 111 24 2017 Robust plasmonic hot-spots in a metamaterial lattice for enhanced sensitivity of infrared molecular detection 243106 EN Atsushi Ishikawa Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Okayama University Shuhei Hara Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Okayama University Takuo Tanaka Metamaterials Laboratory, RIKEN Xiang Zhan NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, University of California Kenji Tsuruta Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Okayama University High-density and long-lived plasmonic hot-spots are an ideal system for high-sensitive surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA), but these conditions arc usually incompatible due to unwanted near-field coupling between the adjacent unit structures. Here, by fully controlling plasmonic interference in a metamaterial lattice, we experimentally demonstrate densely packed long-lived quadrupole plasmons for high-sensitive SEIRA. The metamaterial consists of a strongly coupled array of super-and sub-radiant plasmonic elements to exhibit an electromagnetic transparency mode at 1730 cm(-1), which spectrally overlaps with the C=O vibrational mode. In the SEIRA measurement, the C=O mode of poly(methyl methacrylate) molecules is clearly observed as a distinct dip within a transmission peak of the metamaterial. The corresponding numerical simulations reveal that constructive interference uniformly forms coherent quadrupole plasmons over the metamaterial lattice, leading to a stronger molecular signal from the system. Our metamaterial approach provides a robust way to construct ideal hot-spots over the sample, paving the way toward a reliable sensing platform of advanced infrared inspection technologies. Published by AIP Publishing. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

American Institute of Physics Acta Medica Okayama 0003-6951 111 18 2017 Selective electroless plating of 3D-printed plastic structures for three-dimensional microwave metamaterials 183102 EN Atsushi Ishikawa Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Okayama University Taiki Kato Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Okayama University Nobuyuki Takeyasu Department of Chemistry, Okayama University Kazuhiro Fujimori Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Okayama University Kenji Tsuruta Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Okayama University A technique of selective electroless plating onto PLA-ABS (Polylactic Acid-Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) composite structures fabricated by three-dimensional (3D) printing is demonstrated to construct 3D microwave metamaterials. The reducing activity of the PLA surface is selectively enhanced by the chemical modification involving Sn2+ in a simple wet process, thereby forming a highly conductive Ag-plated membrane only onto the PLA surface. The fabricated metamaterial composed of Ag-plated PLA and non-plated ABS parts is characterized experimentally and numerically to demonstrate the important bi-anisotropic microwave responses arising from the 3D nature of metallodielectric structures. Our approach based on a simple wet chemical process allows for the creation of highly complex 3D metal-insulator structures, thus paving the way toward the sophisticated microwave applications of the 3D printing technology. Published by AIP Publishing. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

American Physical Society Acta Medica Okayama 2469-9950 96 2 2017 Spin pumping into superconductors: A new probe of spin dynamics in a superconducting thin film 024414 EN Masashi Inoue Department of Physics, Okayama University Masanori Ichioka Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Okayama University Hiroto Adachi Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Okayama University Spin pumping refers to the microwave-driven spin current injection from a ferromagnet into the adjacent target material. We theoretically investigate the spin pumping into superconductors by fully taking account of impurity spin-orbit scattering that is indispensable to describe diffusive spin transport with finite spin diffusion length. We calculate temperature dependence of the spin pumping signal and show that a pronounced coherence peak appears immediately below the superconducting transition temperature Tc, which survives even in the presence of the spin-orbit scattering. The phenomenon provides us with a new way of studying the dynamic spin susceptibility in a superconducting thin film. This is contrasted with the nuclear magnetic resonance technique used to study a bulk superconductor. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

American Physical Society Acta Medica Okayama 1539-3755 91 1 2015 Reply to “Comment on ‘Spontaneous liquid-liquid phase separation of water’ ” 016302 EN Takuma Yagasaki Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Okayama University Masakazu Matsumoto Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Okayama University Hideki Tanaka Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Okayama University Two different scenarios have been proposed on the phase separation occurring in the deeply supercooled liquid water. We discuss what we can derive from our simulation results for the two scenarios and propose a way for future investigation. We also demonstrate that the phase separation in the supercooled liquid water looks like the separation of liquid water and vapor just below the conventional critical point. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Acta Medica Okayama 0021-9258 292 20 2017 Metformin directly binds the alarmin HMGB1 and inhibits its proinflammatory activity 8436 8446 EN Takahiro Horiuchi Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Natsumi Sakata Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Yoshihiro Narumi Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Tomohiro Kimura Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Takashi Hayashi Biomedical Technology Research Center, Tokushima Research Institute Keisuke Nagano First Institute of New Drug Discovery, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co Keyue Liu Department of Pharmacology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Masahiro Nishibori Department of Pharmacology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Sohei Tsukita Department of Metabolism and Diabetes, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine Tetsuya Yamada Department of Metabolism and Diabetes, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine Hideki Katagiri Department of Metabolism and Diabetes, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine Ryutaro Shirakawa Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Hisanori Horiuchi Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University Metformin is the first-line drug in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In addition to its hypoglycemic effect, metformin has an anti-inflammatory function, but the precise mechanism promoting this activity remains unclear. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is an alarmin that is released from necrotic cells and induces inflammatory responses by its cytokine-like activity and is, therefore, a target of anti-inflammatory therapies. Here we identified HMGB1 as a novel metformin-binding protein by affinity purification using a biotinylated metformin analogue. Metformin directly bound to the C-terminal acidic tail of HMGB1. Both in vitro and in vivo, metformin inhibited inflammatory responses induced by full-length HMGB1 but not by HMGB1 lacking the acidic tail. In an acetaminophen-induced acute liver injury model in which HMGB1 released from injured cells exacerbates the initial injury, metformin effectively reduced liver injury and had no additional inhibitory effects when the extracellular HMGB1 was blocked by anti-HMGB1-neutralizing antibody. In summary, we report for the first time that metformin suppresses inflammation by inhibiting the extracellular activity of HMGB1. Because HMGB1 plays a major role in inflammation, our results suggest possible new ways to manage HMGB1-induced inflammation. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学経済学会 Acta Medica Okayama 2433-4146 49 1 2017 「実質所得者課税の原則」に関する一考察 : 所得の人的帰属認定における経済的アプローチの意義 23 39 EN Mikio Morishita Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Okayama University 10.18926/OER/55230 The purpose of this paper is to consider the meaning of "economic substance" in taxation. 　In Japanese Income Tax Act （Article 12）, where a person to whom the revenue is legally imputed is merely nominal and other person enjoys it, the tax shall be imposed on the person who actually enjoys the revenue. This is called "the Principle of taxation on Actual Beneficiary". But it is not always easy to determine the person who actually enjoys the revenue from assets or business. In such a case, there are two ways of thinking. The first is a way of thinking in which a valid private-law contract is considered more important than economic substance. The second is a way of thinking in which economic substance is considered more important than a private-law contract. 　This provision（ Article 12） was enacted in 1950＇s, but opinions are divided among scholars on this point and there is room for further consideration. This paper will be considered this subject from legal and economic viewpoints. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 71 3 2017 Reconstruction of Anterior Chest Wall with Polypropylene Mesh: Two Primary Sternal Chondrosarcoma Cases 259 262 EN Shinichi Kawana Department of Thoracic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Hiromasa Yamamoto Department of Thoracic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Yuho Maki Department of Thoracic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Seiichiro Sugimoto Department of Thoracic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Shinichi Toyooka Department of Thoracic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Shinichiro Miyoshi Department of Thoracic Surgery, Okayama University Hospital Case Report 10.18926/AMO/55210 　Primary sternal chondrosarcoma is a rare malignant tumor that is refractory to chemotherapy and radiation. Effective therapy is radical resection of the tumor. We present two patients with primary sternal chondrosarcoma who underwent a radical resection of the lower half of the sternum and bilateral ribs, followed by reconstruction with 2 sheets of polypropylene mesh layered orthogonally. The patients have maintained almost the same pulmonary function as preoperative values, with stability of the chest wall. Although there are various ways to reconstruct the anterior chest wall, reconstruction with polypropylene mesh layered orthogonally is an easy-to-use and sufficient method. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 7 2017 幼児の園への適応とその支援に関する文献展望 41 50 EN Minan Preschool Faculty of Human Sciences, Toyo Eiwa University Graduate School of Education, Okayama University Osamu Nishiyama Graduate School of Education, Okayama University 10.18926/CTED/54929 　近年、入園などに伴う子どもの移行期が注目され、新しい環境への適応とその支援は、保育・教育現場の重要な課題となっている。幼稚園等は、幼児同士が初めて集団生活を経験する場としての役割を担い、園に適応し安定した生活を送ることは、その後の１人１人の発達の基盤となる。そこで本論では、幼児の園への適応支援の在り方を検討するために、まず、幼児期における適応の定義を明確化することを試みた。また、保育・教育領域における適応を捉える視点を整理した。次に、これらを踏まえ、幼児の園への適応支援における保育者の役割を中心に検討を加えた。さらに、現行の『幼稚園教育要領』等における適応に関する記述を確認した。その結果、幼児の園への適応の中核は「幼児の心理的な安定」と「幼児と環境との適切な関係構築」と捉えることができ、その支援に関わる保育者の役割が明示された。最後に、研究方法の課題等を整理し、今後の研究展望を示した。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 70 6 2016 Prenatal Diagnosis of Interrupted Aortic Arch: Usefulness of Three-Vessel and Four-Chamber Views 485 491 EN Yumika Hirano Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Hisashi Masuyama Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kei Hayata Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Eriko Eto Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Etsuko Nobumoto Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Yuji Hiramatsu Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Original Article 10.18926/AMO/54812 Interrupted aortic arch (IAA) is fatal if not diagnosed. Prenatal diagnosis is helpful, but it is difficult to detect IAA and even more so to differentiate types A and B prenatally. Our objectives were to find a way to detect IAA using 2 views—three-vessel view (3VV) and four-chamber view (4CV)—and to differentiate between types A and B. We retrospectively analyzed fetal echocardiographic images and medical records of eight IAA patients. All eight patients had a ventricular septal defect (VSD) on 4CV. The aorta/main pulmonary artery (Ao/MPA) diameter ratio on 3VV was significantly low, which is characteristic of type B IAA. The left/right ventricular diameter (LV/RV) ratio on 4CV was 0.61± 0.17 for type A and almost 1.0 for type B. The thymus was not observed on 3VV in some type B IAA patients. These findings suggest that we could increase the number of prenatal diagnoses of IAA using the Ao/MPA ratio on 3VV and the presence of VSD on 4CV. Additionally, we could differentiate types A and B with the LV/RV ratio on 4CV, the Ao/MPA ratio, and the presence of a thymus on 3VV, which results in better management of IAA after birth. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Scientific Research Publishing Acta Medica Okayama 2162-1993 7 1 2017 Changing Roles of Traditional Small Urban Green Spaces (Telajakan) in Bali, Indonesia 1 11 EN Sadahisa Kato Institute for Global Human Resource Development, Okayama University Kosuke Hishiyama Faculty of Applied Sociology, Kindai University Anak Agung Ketut Darmadi Laboratory of Biopesticide, Faculty of Agriculture, Udayana University Dewa Ngurah Suprapta Laboratory of Biopesticide, Faculty of Agriculture, Udayana University Bali Island, Indonesia is undergoing rapid land use changes due to heavy development pressure and its fast growing urban population. One such urbanization phenomenon is the shrinkage, deterioration, and disappearance of traditional small urban green spaces in Denpasar, Bali. Focusing on telajakan, a strip of traditional green space between the wall of a housing compound and a ditch/pedestrian path in a roadside, the study aims 1) to investigate and document the changes that are occurring with regards to telajakan and 2) to assess the functions (roles) of telajakan in Denpasar. The research methods include vegetation assessment at a lot scale and in-depth homeowner and village leader interviews with the help of local experts. The results show that telajakan space is often paved over to give way to more front space for the property owner and to ease maintenance. It is also minimized or destroyed as the owner builds a more “western” style house. Traditionally telajakan has multiple functions such as provision of plant and flower materials for Balinese daily rituals, regu-lation of stormwater from the property, and offering semi-public space for street vendors and neighbours. However, the results show that: diversity of planted species is decreasing; only a couple of functions such as aesthetics and economics are strongly favored; and the semi-public nature of telajakan is being lost. Since telajakan is as much traditional green open space as part of the aesthetics of the Balinese architecture, its loss, minimization, and degradation lead to the loss of Balinese culture and identity. On the other hand, new meaning is given to telajakan’s functions such as neighborhood beautification and exhibition of the owner’s pride in the modern context. Therefore, policy recommendations to conserve telajakan in the changing urban fabric need to balance these changing needs of telajakan for its use and conservation of traditional rituals and culture of Bali. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学大学院教育学研究科 Acta Medica Okayama 1883-2423 161 2016 Using a Hero as a Model in Video Instruction to Improve the Academic Performance of a Student with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Study 17 23 EN Yoshihisa Ohtake 10.18926/bgeou/54228 The present study investigated the impact of a component of video hero modeling (VHM) on the object counting score of an elementary-aged student with autism spectrum disorder (Futoshi). In the VHM, the student’s special interest (Transformer®) exhibited the correct way of counting. The VHM was added to a modified video self-modeling intervention (MVSM), which was provided continuously throughout intervention sessions or withdrawn from the package of MVSM and VHM (MVSM+VHM). An ABCBCB design, with MVSM+VHM in the B phase and MVSM in the C phase, revealed that Futoshi’s object counting score improved every time the component of VHM was added whereas it decreased every time the component was withdrawn. In some MVSM+VHM sessions, the student exhibited verbal or nonverbal behaviors, confirming that he kept the hero’s performance in mind during object counting. MVSM alone was not effective in improving the student’s performance. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 6 2016 事例から見る望ましい保護者支援の在り方と保育士間の連携 21 30 EN Ayako Nakahira Noriko Baba Keiko Takeuchi Toshiyuki Takahashi 10.18926/CTED/54017 　子どもの健やかな成長と発達のためには，保育士と保護者が円滑な関係にあることが望ましい。経験年数の短い若手保育士と中堅・熟練保育士では，保護者対応に違いはあるのだろうか。本論では，経験年数別に保護者対応について聴き取り調査を行った。さらに，中堅・熟練保育士自身が若手保育士だった頃の振り返りから，現在の保護者対応を比較し検討した。その結果，保護者対応には経験の蓄積と先輩保育士の助言・指導等が必要であることが分かった。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

International Society for Environmental Epidemiology Acta Medica Okayama 1044-3983 2015 Thyroid Cancer Detection by Ultrasound Among Residents Ages 18 Years and Younger in Fukushima EN Toshihide Tsuda Akiko Tokinobu Eiji Yamamoto Etsuji Suzuki Background: After the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011, radioactive elements were released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Based on prior knowledge, concern emerged about whether an increased incidence of thyroid cancer among exposed residents would occur as a result. Methods: After the release, Fukushima Prefecture performed ultrasound thyroid screening on all residents ages <=18 years. The first round of screening included 298,577 examinees, and a second round began in April 2014. We analyzed the prefecture results from the first and second round up to December 31, 2014, in comparison with the Japanese annual incidence and the incidence within a reference area in Fukushima Prefecture. Results: The highest incidence rate ratio, using a latency period of 4 years, was observed in the central middle district of the prefecture compared with the Japanese annual incidence (incidence rate ratio = 50; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 25, 90). The prevalence of thyroid cancer was 605 per million examinees (95% CI = 302, 1,082) and the prevalence odds ratio compared with the reference district in Fukushima Prefecture was 2.6 (95% CI = 0.99, 7.0). In the second screening round, even under the assumption that the rest of examinees were disease free, an incidence rate ratio of 12 has already been observed (95% CI = 5.1, 23). Conclusions: An excess of thyroid cancer has been detected by ultrasound among children and adolescents in Fukushima Prefecture within 4 years of the release, and is unlikely to be explained by a screening surge. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

National Academy of Sciences. Acta Medica Okayama 0027-8424 112 27 2015 Solid-liquid critical behavior of water in nanopores 8221 8226 EN Kenji Mochizuki Kenichiro Koga Nanoconfined liquid water can transform into low-dimensional ices whose crystalline structures are dissimilar to any bulk ices and whose melting point may significantly rise with reducing the pore size, as revealed by computer simulation and confirmed by experiment. One of the intriguing, and as yet unresolved, questions concerns the observation that the liquid water may transform into a low-dimensional ice either via a first-order phase change or without any discontinuity in thermodynamic and dynamic properties, which suggests the existence of solid−liquid critical points in this class of nanoconfined systems. Here we explore the phase behavior of a model of water in carbon nanotubes in the temperature−pressure−diameter space by molecular dynamics simulation and provide unambiguous evidence to support solid−liquid critical phenomena of nanoconfined water. Solid−liquid first-order phase boundaries are determined by tracing spontaneous phase separation at various temperatures. All of the boundaries eventually cease to exist at the critical points and there appear loci of response function maxima, or the Widom lines, extending to the supercritical region. The finite-size scaling analysis of the density distribution supports the presence of both first-order and continuous phase changes between solid and liquid. At around the Widom line, there are microscopic domains of two phases, and continuous solid−liquid phase changes occur in such a way that the domains of one phase grow and those of the other evanesce as the thermodynamic state departs from the Widom line. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山実験動物研究会 Acta Medica Okayama 31 2015 実験動物を用いる実習における3Rs 実践の試み－マウス、ラットの飼育、保定、注射、解剖に向けての予備トレーニング－ 40 49 EN Toshiki Usuda Kayo Furumoto Megumu Kita 広島アニマルケア専門学校では、動物看護コース3 年課程（動物看護師志望者と実験動物技術者志望者が混在）の3 年次に実施する実験動物学実習に際して、動物福祉の観点から動物に与える苦痛を可能な限り少なくできる実施法を模索してきた。実際に生きた動物を用いる実習を行う前に、いくつかの予備トレーニングを取り入れた3Rs 実践の試みである。具体的には、ケージ取り扱い練習、先鋭器具取り扱い練習のための雑巾縫製、保定練習を目的とした軟質ボールによる手指トレーニング、自身の皮膚摘まみ練習、鉛筆や鶏手羽先を用いた注射器具使用練習、そして餃子の皮、鶏皮、鶏手羽先を用いた解剖器具使用練習などである。これらの取り組みそれぞれが、果たして効果的であるかどうか検証できているわけではないが、学生の取り組みを間近で観察した立場から、感覚的には効果を実感している。また、予備トレーニングは、動物に与える苦痛を軽減することを最大の目標とするものであるが、一方で、動物を用いた実習に臨む学生の心理的準備を促す効果もあるように感じている。実験動物技術者や動物看護師養成課程、コースが、大学や専門学校に設けられ、そこに多くの学生が学んでいる現在、動物を用いた実習のプログラムを動物実験倫理・動物福祉の観点からさらに洗練させることが望まれる。そのプログラムの一部として、われわれの予備トレーニングの取り組みを紹介した。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山実験動物研究会 Acta Medica Okayama 31 2015 ゼブラフィシュは知覚学習以前に反時計回りに左から右へ（L→R）泳ぎ、円形を避け倒立三角形に近づく 11 32 EN Keiichi Mittani The following results were obtained thorough induction and deduction by four experiments on the early experience controlled zebrafish 4 males and 4 females using 30-30-40 milliseconds behavior analysis system. [1] It was found zebrafish perform two kind of movement. The first is high speed anticlockwise (L→R) spiral circular swimming usig right hemisphere⇔left -visual field. The second is relatively slowly clock (L←R) willing large elliptic swimming usig left hemisphere⇔right-visual field. If we observe from the front of the tank, as DNA they almost always swim L→R basing probably on the rotation and revolution of the earth (Experiment 1). [2] In spite of the innate L→R swimming tendency, zebrafish prefer the visual black inverted triangle side presented to the circle with the same peripheral length. They avoid circle and go to the triangle in group following the leader without perceptual learning irrespective of the position （Experiment 1,2,3,4）。 [3] In such a way, an inverted triangle and a circle are psychophysiologically quite different geometrical configurations. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学理学部地球科学教室 Acta Medica Okayama 1340-7414 21 1 2014 東アジアとの比較の視点でみたヨーロッパにおける低気圧活動と広域場の季節サイクル（序報） 23 32 EN Yumi Takigawa Yuichi Haga Kengo Matsumoto Kuranoshin Kato 10.18926/ESR/53195 　Preliminary analyses on the seasonal cycles of the large-scale atmospheric mean fields and the cyclone activity in Europe were performed based mainly on the NCEP/NCAR re-analysis data, at the viewpoint comparing with those in East Asia. 　As for the climatological monthly mean fields (1981~2010), the meridional temperature gradient in East Asia presents striking seasonal change with the maximum in winter and the minimum in summer. It is interesting that such transition from winter to summer and that from summer to winter occur rather rapidly accompanied by the great temperature increase around April to June and the decrease around October to November, respectively, in a wide region of 40~70N. On the other hand, the temperature gradient in Europe is significantly smaller with slight seasonal change than that in East Asian winter. 　By the way, in spite of the above difference of the horizontal temperature gradient between Europe and East Asia, the cyclone activity does not seem to be so weak even around Europe. Thus, the seasonal cycles of the characteristics of the cyclones and their environmental fields around Europe were examined. At the first step, we analyzed the daily cyclone activity in Europe for January and July of 2000. Many low pressure centers at the surface level appeared in both January and July. Referring also to the daily maps of sea level pressure and geopotential height at 500 hPa level, we found that not only the cyclones corresponding to the baroclinic instability waves, but also to the cold vortices which amplitudes increased with height appeared frequently. Moreover, it is interesting that the large-scale cold vortex, which embeds the shortwave trough with the low center at the surface level, appeared in the northern Europe in July as in East Asian winter, when such multi-scale systems sometimes bring the persisting heavy snowfall events in the Japan Sea side of the Japan Islands. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学グローバル・パートナーズ, 岡山大学教育開発センター, 岡山大学言語教育センター, 岡山大学キャリア開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 1881-5952 10 2014 A Discussion of Practitioner Research: How Are Reflective Practice, Action Research, and Exploratory Practice Different? 105 114 EN Ian Nakamura 10.18926/53177 　The time has come to see the three major forms of Practitioner Research under a general umbrella as well as distinct choices and commitments to pursue professional self-inquiry into the way and ways we teach and how our students (may) learn. The focus of this paper is on understanding each approach by tracing its origins and key concepts. The aim of this working paper is to take the first step in building an accessible foundation of knowledge from which classroom teachers can then pursue their own interest or concern in the method that appeals to them the most. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 69 1 2015 Trend of Human Papillomavirus Genotypes in Cervical Neoplasia Observed in a Newly Developing Township in Yangon, Myanmar 51 58 EN Mu Mu Shwe Kyi Kyi Nyunt Shigeru Okada Teruo Harano Hlaing Myat Thu Hla Myat Mo Mo Mo Mo Win Khin Khin Oo KhinThet Wai Khin Saw Aye Myo Khin Original Article 10.18926/AMO/53122 Persistent infection with oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most important risk factor associated with cervical cancer. This study detected the oncogenic HPV genotypes in cervical neoplasia in relation to clinicopathological findings using a cross-sectional descriptive method in 2011 and 2012. Cervical swabs and colposcopy-directed cervical biopsy tissues were collected from 108 women (median age 45 years;range 20-78) showing cervical cytological changes at Sanpya General Hospital, Yangon, Myanmar. HPV DNA testing and genotyping were performed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism. HPV was identified in women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1 (44.4%), CIN2 (63.2%), CIN3 (70.6%), and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (74.1%). The association between cervical neoplasia and HPV positivity was highly significant (p＝0.008). Most patients infected with HPV were between 40-49 years of age, and the youngest were in the 20- to 29-year-old age group. The most common genotype was HPV 16 (65.6%) with the following distribution:70% in CIN1, 41.7% in CIN2, 91.7% in CIN3, and 60% in SCC. HPV-31 was the second-most frequent (21.9%):30% in CIN1, 33.3% in CIN2, 8.3% in CIN3, and 15% in SCC. The third-most frequent-genotype was HPV-18 (7.8%):8.3% in CIN1, and 20% in SCC. Another genotype was HPV-58 (4.7%):16.7% in CIN1 and 5% in SCC. The majority of CIN/SCC cases were associated with HPV genotypes 16, 31, 18, and 58. If oncogenic HPV genotypes are positive, the possibility of cervical neoplasia can be predicted. Knowledge of the HPV genotypes distribution can predict the effectiveness of the currently used HPV vaccine. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 69 1 2015 Comparison of Urinary Levels of 8-Hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine between Young Females with and without Depressive Symptoms during Different Menstrual Phases 45 50 EN Tadayuki Iida Ken Inoue Yasuhiro Ito Hiroaki Ishikawa Miwa Kagiono Ryoji Teradaira Chiho Chikamura Toshihide Harada Satoko Ezoe Hiroshi Yatsuya Original Article 10.18926/AMO/53121 This study aimed to clarify the association between depressive symptoms and a marker of oxidative stress-induced DNA damage in young females. Since the menstrual cycle may confound or modify this association, depressive symptoms and urinary levels of 8-hydroxy-2ʼ deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were evaluated during each menstrual phase. A total of 57 female fourth-year students (aged 21.6±0.8) from a Japanese health science university were studied. The menstrual cycle was divided into 3 phases:menstrual (days 1 to 3 after the onset of menses);proliferative (days 13 to 15);and secretory (days 24 to 26). Depressive symptoms were assessed by the self-rating depression scale (SDS). Positive depressive symptoms were defined as a score of 53 or more during 2 different menstrual phases. The association between the presence of depressive symptoms and 8-OHdG levels adjusting for the menstrual cycle was examined by two-way analysis of variance with the menstrual cycle (menstrual, proliferative, and secretory phases) as the within-individual factor. The menstrual cycle did not show a significant correlation with urinary 8-OHdG levels. On the other hand, the menstrual cycle-adjusted 8-OHdG level was significantly higher in those with depressive symptoms (7.01ng/mL) than in those without them (3.98ng/mL). The ROC curve analysis showed that urinary 8-OHdG levels had reasonably high discriminative performance throughout all the menstrual cycles (0.73-0.81;all p＜0.05). These results indicated the presence of oxidative stress in subjects with depressive symptoms independent of the menstrual cycle. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 1353-8020 20 4 2014 Cognitive functions in Parkinson's disease: Relation to disease severity and hallucination 415 420 EN Takaaki Wakamori Takashi Agari Takao Yasuhara Masahiro Kameda Akihiko Kondo Aiko Shinko Susumu Sasada Tatsuya Sasaki Tomohisa Furuta Isao Date Objective: We wished to relate severity of Parkinson's disease (PD) with cognitive function in relation to cerebral blood flow (CBF). Methods: Eighty-one consecutive PD patients were enrolled in this study. We used Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third edition (WAIS-III) to evaluate cognitive functions, and three-dimensional stereotactic ROI template (3DSRT) and Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) 8 to evaluate single photon emission CT (SPECT) recordings of regional CBF. Results: The mean MMSE score of PD patients was 27.4 +/- 2.4. The scores of most patients were higher than 23/30. On the other hand, the mean Full-scale IQ of PD patients was 88.4 +/- 17.3 in WAIS-III, which was lower than that of normal controls. In particular, visuospatial function score of most patients was lower. There was significant correlation between cognitive scores and Hoehn & Yahr stage and hallucinatory episodes. PD Patients with stage III and IV showed significant deterioration in cognitive functions compared to stage II patients. Analysis of CBF revealed relative reductions in perfusion in the cerebral cortex relative to that in normal control. SPM 8 showed that cognitive functions in PD patients were positively correlated with rCBF in the thalamus and cingulate gyrus. Conclusions: This is the study to demonstrate the cognitive impairments in PD patients using WAIS-III. Visuospatial dysfunction might be caused by decrease in rCBF in the parietal and occipital lobes and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The severity of cognitive impairments in PD patients was correlated with disease severity and hallucinatory episodes. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 126 2 2014 リンパ腫・骨髄腫 143 150 EN Kyosuke Saeki Yoshinobu Maeda Mitsune Tanimoto No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教育学部 Acta Medica Okayama 0471-4008 129 2005 A Comparison of Special Education Systems in Japan and Peru 117 122 EN Satoshi Sanada Cecilia Chumioque 10.18926/bgeou/52411 The differences and similarities between the Japanese and Peruvian Special Education practice，considering aspects like，educational approaches used，communication strategies to deal with non-verbal students and the education system in general，were explored. Teachers of intellectual disabled children in Japan (30) and Peru (30) were the participants who completed a questionnaire developed by the researcher to determine the different ways of teaching in both countries. Results indicate important differences in the practice of special education between the groups，but some coincidences in the limitations teachers have in this field. The importance of inclusion doctrine in both countries and the role it plays in thespecial education system was found to be considerable. Implications include the need of an individualized education for students with special educational needs. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学国際センター, 岡山大学教育開発センター, 岡山大学言語教育センター, 岡山大学キャリア開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 1881-5952 9 2013 Okayama University LEC English Program Evaluation Plan and Pretest Results 181 194 EN Caleb Prichard 10.18926/52201 This article describes the methods and rationale of the Okayama University LEC English Program evaluation. The methods include summative measures （TOEIC and TOEIC SW） to see if the program is helping students improve their English proficiency. Formative measures are also being utilized to understand various aspects of students’ communicative competence and language learning to consider ways to improve the program. These measures include surveys on learner affect（ motivation and anxiety）, a reading strategy survey, and vocabulary tests. The results of the pretest measures will be reported and possible implications will be discussed. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学国際センター, 岡山大学教育開発センター, 岡山大学言語教育センター, 岡山大学キャリア開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 1881-5952 9 2013 Writing is more than just writing: A case study of effective feedback within an intercultural writing center 43 50 EN Hiromi Yoshida 10.18926/52189 　The purpose of this study is to examine a ‘popular’ tutor’s beliefs on feedback and her regular tutee’s receptivity toward the feedback in order to investigate factors involved in giving ‘good’ feedback within intercultural settings. The data was gathered by interviewing a pair of L1 tutor and L2 tutee and observing their tutorial sessions. The results revealed the importance of three points: building a ‘safe house’ for both the tutor and the tutee, respecting the tutee’s ‘writer’s identity,’ and using praise in an appropriate way. This research was conducted at a writing center; however, the findings offer important insights into feedback that are applicable to language teachers in multicultural and multilingual settings as well. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Okayama University Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1566 56 1 2014 SUMS OF TWO BIQUADRATES AND ELLIPTIC CURVES OF RANK ≥ 4 51 63 EN F.A. Izadi F. Khoshnam K. Nabardi 10.18926/mjou/52068 If an integer n is written as a sum of two biquadrates in two different ways, then the elliptic curve y2 = x3 − nx has positive rank. We utilize Euler’s parametrization to introduce some homoge- neous equations to prove that En has rank ≥ 3. If moreover n is odd and the parity conjecture is true, then the curve has even rank ≥ 4. Finally, some examples of ranks equal to 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10, are also obtained. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

地理空間学会 Acta Medica Okayama 1882-9872 2 2 2009 Structural problems of regional development practices in terms of sectoral GDP per capita in Turkey 152 174 EN Enver Erdinc Dincsoy Fumikazu Ichiminami In integration of Turkey to the EU,the scope of regional programs has been transformed to reach the basic regional socio-economic standards of the Union. In this way, new cooperative regional programs have been applied in Turkey by the EU and Turkey. Therefore, some regional programs in Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics（NUTS）level-2 regions have been examined in this study. In this point, the data of regional GDP per capita by sectors has been used to analyse sectoral disparities in terms of Gini index. To discuss and evaluate the future of the programs on regional disparities, related sector parameters of GDP per capita have been calculated by regression analysis through（balanced）panel data. The ﬁndings showed that there is a remarkable sectoral disparity among program regions, and the sector priorities of the programs are not sufﬁcient to bring any long-term solution for the regional disparities. Finally, Turkey from regional and/or multiregional perspectives needs to reconsider the regional programs for decreasing the disparities as much as development ofthe regions. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 66 5 2012 Relationships between the Color-Word Matching Stroop Task and the Go/NoGo Task:Toward Multifaceted Assessment of Attention and Inhibition Abilities of Children 377 386 EN Teruko Morooka Tatsuya Ogino Akihito Takeuchi Kaoru Hanafusa Makio Oka Yoko Ohtsuka Original Article 10.18926/AMO/49385 Both selective attention and response inhibition can be assessed through the Stroop task and the Go/NoGo task (Go/NoGo). The color-word matching Stroop task (cwmStroop) differs from the traditional Stroop task in ways that make it easy to administer, and it enables the examiners to analyze reaction time. It is expected that the cwmStroop and Go/NoGo tasks will be useful as clinical assessments for children with developmental disorders and in combination with functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. The objectives of this study were to elucidate the pattern of developmental change in cwmStroop scores and Go/NoGo scores and to determine whether and how cwmStroop scores are related to Go/NoGo scores. The subjects consisted of 108 healthy Japanese children aged 6-14 years. We found that cwmStroop and Go/NoGo scores displayed clear developmental changes between 6 and 14 years of age. The childrenʼs scores on the 2 tasks followed different developmental courses, however, and the correlation between scores on the two tasks was weak on the whole. These results indicate that the cwmStroop and Go/NoGo tasks tap different aspects of selective attention and response inhibition. Therefore it is expected that the combination of both tests will be useful in the multifaceted assessment of selective attention and response inhibition in childhood. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学国際センター, 岡山大学教育開発センター, 岡山大学言語教育センター, 岡山大学キャリア開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 1881-5952 8 2012 ＜話す・書く＞力を測るための両者共通の評価項目による評価方法 103 122 EN Mineo Sakai 10.18926/49294 This paper shows the reflections, based on Relevance Theory and consumers’ point of view, on two important elements such as Evaluation Items and Criteria for Grading Levels, to evaluate especially international students’ speaking and writing proficiencies among Japanese language learners. Concerning the speaking, grounding on Relevance Theory and consumers’ point of view,（1）we found out Evaluation Items to assess the speaking proficiency, and（2）we showed Criteria for Grading Levels based on these Evaluation Items. Concerning the writing, grounding on Evaluation Items of speaking（, 3） we picked up Evaluation Items of writing, and（4）we proposed Criteria for Grading Levels of writing through Evaluation Items of writing. Consequently, this work could let us propose commonly based Evaluation Items of speaking and writing more coherently and comprehensively generalized way. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学大学院教育学研究科 Acta Medica Okayama 1883-2423 150 2012 『ダニエル・デロンダ』に見る解体と再建の試み ―ユダヤ人物語にみるジョージ・エリオットのヴィジョン― 35 43 EN Shintetsu Fukunaga 10.18926/bgeou/48792 Our aim is to make clear how George Eliot is trying to hold up a mirror in Daniel Deronda against later nineteen-century Britain in her social and spiritual context. Christian tradition, in her view, has long been settled more or less into a dead-letter conventionalism. She finds in Jewish way of life a comparative viewpoint from which she can look closely at her own cultural background. In order to restore a living religion into the whole fabric of society, Hebrew language and its organic vision of history seem to Eliot to give a valuable hint for British people to learn from. Her awareness of this finds expression in a thread of the Jewish story woven in parallel with the English one. We will examine this sense of purpose on the part of the novelist on the evidence of the text. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学法学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0386-3050 57 1 2007 プーチニズム：民主主義へのロシアの道？ 282 236 EN Y. Kawahara No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学法学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0386-3050 59 3・4 2010 デューイのデモクラシー論の諸問題　―政治理論研究の立場から― 573 585 EN D. Odagawa No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 124 2 2012 日本の肝・小腸移植の動向 125 127 EN Takahito Yagi No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Elsevier Science BV. Acta Medica Okayama 0926-3373 102 3-4 2011 Improvement in sulfur desorption of NOX storage and reduction catalysts using a Ba–Ti composite oxide 620 626 EN Toshiyuki Tanaka Ichirou Tajima Yuichi Kato Yasushi Nishihara Hirofumi Shinjoh A Ba-Ti composite oxide was formed on a NOx storage and reduction catalyst via impregnation of a Ba-Ti precursor solution composed of H(2)O(2) added to a complex prepared using the citric acid method. The structure of the Ba-Ti composite in solution was analyzed by chemical composition analysis and FT-Raman and UV-vis spectroscopy. MM2 calculations were performed to propose its chemical structure. Both Ba and Ti together were found to form a composite molecule in the solution. Furthermore, TEM-EDX and XRD analyses of the Ba-Ti composite oxide on the catalyst prepared by impregnation with the Ba-Ti composite aqueous solution revealed that Ba and Ti in the catalyst were highly dispersed at the nm scale. The formation of the Ba-Ti composite oxide on the NSR catalyst enhanced sulfur desorption efficiency and led to high-performance NO(X) conversion as a NO(X) storage and reduction activity catalyst after desulfation treatment. It was assumed that the existence of nano-scaled Ba compounds combined with Ti was efficient for the inhibition of the sintering of barium sulfate and its facile decomposition. It was found that dispersion of Ba compounds for NO(X) storage materials using a Ba-Ti complex solution is an efficient way to improve the durability of NSR catalysts. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 66 1 2012 Relationship between Tourniquet Pressure and a Cross-Section Area of Superficial Vein of Forearm 67 71 EN Shinsuke Sasaki Naoki Murakami Yuko Matsumura Mika Ichimura Masaharu Mori Original Article 10.18926/AMO/48083 This study investigated the appropriate tourniquet pressure (TP) and duration of tourniquet application for venipuncture by calculating the venous cross-section (VCS) area on ultrasonography. Twenty healthy volunteers without cardiovascular risk factors were enrolled in this study. A target vein (either a cephalic or median cubital vein) was selected on ultrasonography. The pneumatic tourniquet was inflated using a rapid cuff inflator system at setting pressure for 120sec. TP strength was varied from 20mmHg to 100mmHg, in 20mmHg increments. The order of TP was randomized. Compari-sons among more than 3 groups were performed by one-way repeated-measures ANOVA and the Bonferroni method. The VCS area increased rapidly until 10sec after tourniquet inflation. The VCS area then increased gradually until 30sec after tourniquet inflation. After that, the VCS area did not increase remarkably. The VCS area increased with TP strength up to 80mmHg, but the VCS area at TP 100mmHg decreased to less than that at TP 40mmHg. Based on these results, we recommend a tourniquet pressure of 60mmHg, and duration of tourniquet application is 30 to 60sec for venipuncture. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Okayama University Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1566 54 1 2012 SOME REMARKS ON LUCAS PSEUDOPRIMES 1 32 EN Noriyuki Suwa 10.18926/mjou/47190 We present a way of viewing Lucas pseudoprimes, Euler-Lucas pseudoprimes and strong Lucas pseudoprimes in the context of group schemes. This enables us to treat the Lucas pseudoprimalities in parallel to establish pseudoprimes, Euler pseudoprimes and strong pseudoprimes. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 40 12 1928 脾臟ト甲状腺トノ交互作用ニ關スル研究第4囘報告脾動靜脉ノ白血球,血色素,網状赤血球等血液成分竝ニ造血臟器ノ組織像ニ就テ 2465 2475 EN Yoshito Tsunashima Having studied, as mentioned in the previous report, the changes of blood-platelets in the splenic arteries and veins, I extended my investigation into white corpuscles, hemoglobin and reticulated red cells: and with the object of ascertainning what their changes mean, I carried out an histological research of the spleen, the liver and the bonemarrow in the above-stated procedures and came to the following conclusions. 1) In the case of a normal rabbit, the number of the white corpuscles especially the lymphocytes in the splenic veins exceeds that in the splenic arteries. 2) After thyroidectomy and the injection of phenylhydrazin the white corpuscles in splenic veins increase more remarkably than those in splenic arteries, the lymphocytes and monocytes also showing a remarkable augmentation. 3) When adrenalin or silver-elecroid is injected, the white corpuscles in splenic veins outnumber exceedingly those in splenic arteries. When adrenalin is injected, the lymphocytes and monocytes increase especially. When silver-elecroid is injected, the augmentation of the lymphocytes is not comparatively remarkable, while on the other hand, the pseudoeosinophile-leucocytes increase. 4) In the case of a normal rabbit, as well as in that where the thyroidectomy is performed, a greater quantity of hemoglobin is found in the splenic veins than in the splenic arteries, and it is especially so when phenylhydrazin is injected. But the continuous injection of silver-elecroid does not cause any remarkable change of the contents of splenic veins and arteries. The quantity of the hemoglobin fluctuates almost in the same way as the number of the red blood corpuscles does. 5) No remarkable change of the reticulated red cells occurs in splenic arteries and veins. 6) After thyroidectomy and the injection of phenylhydrazin, the appearance of the megacaryocytes in the spleen is demonstrable, but no remarkable change occurs in the liver. 7) Thyroidectomy gives rise to the atrophy of the bone-marrow, the proliferation of adipose tissue and the decrease of megacaryocytes. A similar tendency is recognizable when phenylhydrazin is injected. 8) From these above-stated blood pictures of the splenic arteries and veins, as well as the histological researches of the blood-making organs, it may be inferred that from thyroidectomical causes, the spleen regains, in a compensatory sense, its blood-making function outside the bone-marrow. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学大学院教育学研究科 Acta Medica Okayama 1883-2423 147 2011 保育目標のとらえ方と保育実践の両者を質的に向上させる保育実践開発に関する考察 125 133 EN Tomoyoshi Yokomatsu Yuzo Watanabe Hideko Mori Makoto Ise Rie Toyoike Kenji Saito 10.18926/bgeou/47110 今日の保育園には，保育課程経営の実現が求められている。保育課程経営とは，保育課程開発の各段階とそれに対応する経営活動をPDCAサイクルにのせて推進し，より豊かな園の保育を実現しようとする営みであるといえる。その実現のためのアクション・リサーチが，私立御南保育園において実施されている。同リサーチでは，実効のある保育目標の明確化過程をとおして，保育目標の明確化手順を開発し､その上で，所属保育士有志が，実効のある保育目標を達成するためのより発展的な保育実践を開発しようとする取り組みを行っている。本研究では，その過程の分析をとおして，実効のある保育目標を前提にした保育実践開発が，保育目標のとらえ方と保育実践の両者を質的に向上させる可能性があることとその実現のための課題について考察している。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学大学院教育学研究科 Acta Medica Okayama 1883-2423 147 2011 ジョージ・エリオットにみる科学の受容と懐疑―『ミドルマーチ』医師リドゲートのテクストを読む―その1 27 34 EN Shintetsu Fukunaga 10.18926/bgeou/47100 We aim at clarifying how scientific world view and its methods are penetrated into the text of Middlemarch, and how scientific way of thinking and language contribute to changing the structure and style of the English novel. With this sense of awareness in view, we try to make clear how George Eliot attempts to reconcile the conflict between her cherished Christian outlook and terminology with the method of verifying hypotheses through experiments. Among the author's fictional presentations, we find that a heated discussion between biblical language and physiological, psychological one is evident in the protagonists portraits. For an example of this, we take up specific passages of Lydgate's delineation, and analyze how the novelist explored an innovative method of enlarging the dimension in character portrait. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学経済学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0386-3069 43 2 2011 Productive Efficiency Differences among Chinese Cities : A Stochastic Frontier Approach 29 44 EN Chao Xuan Ryohei Nakamura 10.18926/OER/47076 This paper treats the empirical issue related to the urban productive efficiency. First, we construct a model incorporating urban inefficiency term and estimate a stochastic frontier production function at urban level. Next, we compare technical efficiency across Chinese cities during 1997-2007 by using estimated results. The urban technical inefficiency effect is found to be significant in many cities. Then, in the way of constructing the specification of the technical inefficiency in terms of various capital explanatory variables, we analyze the determinants of technical inefficiency of individual cities, and explore how the urban technical inefficiency is influenced by capital density, FDI, the domestic investment, while the impact of technical inefficiency on capital variables is investigated. From the empirical results, FDI is able to reduce effectively the technical inefficiency. Capital intensive industry would be the engine of economic growth in the future. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Faculty of Engineering, Okayama University Acta Medica Okayama 0475-0071 36 1 2001 Application of Dead Beat Control method to the Water Level Control of Small-scale Hydroelectric Power Plant 17 28 EN Shinichiro Endo Masami Konishi 10.18926/46997 Small Scale Hydroelectric Power Generation is made using the water drop caused by the gradient difference between that of the river and that of the penstock. The water flow in this system apt to vary with time. Especially, at the time of the flood or that of the dry, the flow in the water stream varies largely. To realize the stable generation, it is necessary to maintain the water level in the head tank located in the mid way in the stream channel at a constant level. In this paper, variation of water level is forecasted using two-tank model for the penstock and the head tank and the water level control algorithm is proposed by deadbeat control. The effectiveness of the algorithm is evaluated beforehand using the simulation program of the water environment for the hydroelectric generation system. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Faculty of Engineering, Okayama University Acta Medica Okayama 0475-0071 38 1-2 2004 Combinatorial Boundary Tracking of a 3D Lattice Point Set 73 89 EN Yukiko Kenmochi Atsushi Imiya 10.18926/46954 Boundary tracking and surface generation are ones of main topological topics for three-dimensional digital image analysis. However, there is no adequate theory to make relations between these different topological properties in a completely discrete way. In this paper, we present a new boundary tracking algorithm which gives not only a set of border points but also the surface structures by using the concepts of combinatorial/algebraic topologies. We also show that our boundary becomes a triangulation of border points (in the sense of general topology), that is, we clarify relations between border points and their surface structures. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 123 2 2011 医療訴訟における「医師の説明」に関する研究 119 127 EN Yoshiyuki Fukumoto In this study, a subset of medical malpractice lawsuits that are preventable was evaluated using qualitative data. The objective of this study is to help reduce the number of avoidable medical malpractice lawsuits. This qualitative study could pave the way to future quantitative studies. The analysis of the qualitative data revealed that in the vast majority of medical malpractice lawsuits filed by patients and their families there were ① an occurrence of unexpected bad outcomes, ② inadequate explanation by the patient's physician, and ③ involvement of an instigator who encouraged the lawsuit. That is, the failure of a physician to provide an adequate explanation to a patient or the inappropriate conduct of a physician after unexpected bad results, with or without an instigator's involvement, is the main reason patients file medical malpractice lawsuits. The physician providing an adequate explanation to patients after unexpected bad results (adequate post-event explanation) is the pivotal determinative factor in preventing avoidable medical malpractice lawsuits. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 41 1 1929 脾臟ト甲状腺トノ交互作用ニ關スル研究第5囘報告赤血球沈降速度ニ就テ 20 26 EN Yoshito Tsunashima From the investigation into the influence of the spleen and the thyroid gland upon sedimentation, the following results were obtained. 1. Thyroidectomy seems to bring about the tendency of retardation of the blood sedimentation. On the other hand, this reaction is prompted by the administration of thyreoidin. On these occasions no definite changes was seen in the quantitative proportion of globulin to albumin. 2. This reaction is prompted by splenectomy, and at the same time the degree of viscosity increases, that of globulin remarkably, and when silverelecroid is injected continually, the same reactions occur, though less strongly. 3. Judging from the above-stated experimental fact we are led to believe that the thyroid gland has a function of prompting the sedimentation of the red blood corpuscles, which the spleen restricts when they are operative in the function of blood-making, in the same way as these two organs have two diflerent infiuences on the bone-marrow. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 42 12 1930 人臍帯血管及ビ胎盤血管ノ藥理學的研究第1囘報告植物性神經毒ノ作用ニ就テ 3059 3080 EN Kensuke Murakami This paper deals with pharmacological studies of the blood vessels of the human umbilical cord and placenta, for the purpose of investigating the innervation of those vessels and their pharmacological reactions, a matter which is as yet not established. In the research on this subject, the following results were obtained: 1. Adrenalin manifests vasoconstrictor action on the arteries of the umbilical cord and placenta, as well as on the vein of the cord. Also this action may be depressed or reversed by the use of atropin or ergotamine. Adrenalin in high concentration causes all of these vessels to dilate, while the vein of the placenta is dilated by adrenalin in any degree of concentration, within the limits of an efficient dose. The constrictor and dilator action of this drug on the blood vessels is understood to be due to the stimulation of the motor and inhibitory fibres of the sympathetic nerve respectively. 2. Acethyl-cholin acts as vasoconstrictor on the arteries of the cord and placenta. This action may be attributed to the stimulation of the parasympathetic nerve, as it is antagonized by a small dose of atropin. This suggests that the arteries of the cord and placenta are innervated by the vasoconstrictor fibres of the parasympathetic nerve. Despite these facts, it was not possible to recognize the vasoconstrictor action of acethylcholin on the veins of the cord. and placenta. Acethyl-cholin in high concentration dilates both kinds of the blood vessels of the cord and placenta. This dilating action is due not to the paralysis of the muscles of the vessels, but probably to the stimulation of the vasodilator fibres of the sympathetic nerve. 3. The action of pilocarpin on the blood vessels of the umbilical cord and placenta is to dilate them, and its point of attack seems to be the vasodilator of the sympathetic nerve. The effect of this drug on the parasympathetic nerve in these vessels was not observed in this experiment. 4. Physostigmin shows itself to be a vasoconstrictor on the vessels of the cord and placenta. It affects the muscles chiefly and the parasympathetic nerve of the vessels to some extent. 5. Atropin by itself does not have any definite action on the vessels of the cord and placenta, but it can depress the effect of acethyl-cholin by a very small dose, and it can also depress or reverse the effect of adranalin by a larger dose. So, it is clearly seen that the parasympathetic nerve and the motor fibre of the sympathetic nerve are paralyzed by a certain concentration of atropin, but the inhibitory fibre of the latter is not influenced by this drug. Atropin in very high concentration dilates these vessels, owing to the paralysis of the muscle. 6. From the facts learned in this research regarding the pharmacological reactions, it may be concluded that the arteries of both umbilical cord and placenta are innervated by the vasoconstrictor fibre of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves, and the dilatation of these vessels is controlled by the dilator fibre of the sympathetic nerve. The existence of the constrictor fibre of the parasympathetic nerve in the vein of the cord could not be proved. The sympathetic constrictor in the vein is inferior in its developement to the same in the artery. In the vein of the placenta, it was not possible to confirm the innervation of the vasoconstrictor of either the parasympathetic or the sympathetic nerve. 7. The arteries of the umbilical cord and placenta show similar pharmacological reaction to the drugs. Therefore it may be concluded that they are under the same innervation. The vein of the placenta reacts to the drugs in a somewhat different way from what the arteries do. The action of the drugs on the vein of the cord coincides partly with the action observed on the arteries, and partly with that on the placental vein. 8. These embryonic blood vessels manifest nearly the same pharmacological reactions as in the general blood vessels of the body, though there is more or less difference between them. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 42 5 1930 Anoxaemia (anaemic type)ニ關スル實驗的研究 1015 1043 EN Seiiti Yosizumi A large quantity of blood was shed from dogs and immediately replaced by the injection of an equal volume of Acacia-Ringer solution (Ringer solution mixed with 7% of gum acacia) into the vein in order to prevent any fall of blood pressure, (due to loss of blood, ) and to maintain the normal state of circulation. The content and tension of oxygen in the blood under the abovementioned conditions and the recovery of these from their now lowered level to the normal, were studied. Concomitant changes in the blood, viz., in the number of erythrocytes, and in the volume-ratio of blood corpuscles to the plasma and the haemoglobincontent of blood, were observed during the successive days. 1) By the letting of blood, the oxygen content in the arterial blood was lowered until it was 8.95 vol% or below; in these cases the animals succumbed always; but in cases in which the oxygen content remained over 10.55 vol%, the animals survived. 2) The critical amount of oxygen in the blood, the severe loss of blood and the lowered oxygentension of the respiratory air, all coincide in producing death. The determining factor in producing death, in these cases, was the deficiency of oxygen in the blood. 3) The decrease of the oxygen content in the blood below the critical value is shown by the decrease of the respiration frequency, especially in the most case by the respiration of Cheyne-Stokes type. 4) It seems as if failure of the respiratory centre to respond foretells the death of animals in the case of anoxaemia, for if the frequency of the respiration in anoxaemia exceeds the normal rate (i.e. the rate of respiration before the bleeding a. s. f., ) the prognosis is generally favourable; but if the centre can not respond to the lack of oxygen with increased respiration frequency, the animal, without exception, expires. 5) The amount of the lost blood until about 44% of the total blood volume (which was calculated as 9.72% of the body weight, according to Meek and Gasser) could be safely replaced by Acacia-Ringer solution; but a loss of blood exceeding 45% could not be safely replaced in this way. 6) Socalled “head of oxygen” i.e. the difference between the oxygencontents of arterial and venous blood decreased to 2.0% (normal value is 5.66 to 3.66%, average 4.26%, ) when about 44% of blood was replaced by Acacia-Ringer. If this value fell lower than 1.62%, by the replacement of a greater amount of blood by Acacia-Ringer, the animal died. 7) Complete recovery of the blood to its normal volume and number of bloo-dcorpuscles, required 33 to 40 days, if the shed blood was replaced by an equal amount of hypertonic Acacia-Ringer. If isotonic Acacia-Ringer was used, the recovery was effected in 24 to 27 days. Recovery of the amount of haemologlobin delayed about 3 days from this term. 8) The recovery of the blood to normal conditions of oxygencontent, numbers of erythrocytes and the amount of haemoglobin proceeded steadily, when replacement of the shed blood was made by isotonic Acacia-Ringer. If hypertonic Acaeia-Ringer was used for replacement, hydraemia followed withinin a few days during the early stages of recovery. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山実験動物研究会 Acta Medica Okayama 27 2011 実験動物としてのウズラの有用性 16 21 EN Shinji Takahashi Akira Shimizu Takaharu Kawashima The Japanese quail has been familiar to our Japanese from ancient era (Heian, 1,000). In Edo era (1603-1868), male quails were housed in Samurai class as a pet of "Singing bird" to encourage his mind. After that, these birds were domesticated for poultry under the policy of Meiji government, JAPAN. However, the Japanese quail as an experimental animal was lately paid attention in the U.S.A after 1950. Since 1960 in Japan, the Japanese quail has been improved for an experimental animal by using the domesticated ones. The National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) has exploited the Japanese quail as a useful experimental animal for environmental science by cooperating with Tohoku University since 1980. By the way, the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) was selected for high (H) and low (L) antibody production to Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccine more than 50 generations. And H and L quails had been reached the plateau of NDV-HI (Haemo-agglutinin Inhibition) titer at 24(th) generation. The structure of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes of the H and L quails was examined and found that each line was independent MHC homozygous line. During the selection experiment, these H and L quails were examined in their utilization as an experimental animal for Environmental Science as follows: 1) The reproductive traits such as egg weight, egg production, hatchability declined in H and L line quails, and H line became extinct at 53 generation due to inbreeding depression. However, L line has been bred as inbred quail for avian experimental animal, because of hatchability recovery happened at 43 generation. 2) Among the 4 species (mice, rat, hamster, quail), the Japanese quail showed highest sensitivity to NO(2). On the contrary, the sensitivity to O(3) was lowest in quails. It has been suggested that toxic mechanisms of those gases are different from one another. 3) The environmental hormone (Endocrine disrupting chemicals, EDCs) was examined in the hybrid egg of quails in accordance with the OECD guideline. These results demonstrate that EDCs such as DDT, Dieldrin and TBTO will damage the reproductive organs and make the egg shells thin in adult female. In conclusion, these quails are useful not only as a pilot animal of poultry, but also as an experimental animal for environmental studies. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 43 9 1931 「サルワルサン」ノ臟器沈着ニ就テ 2349 2381 EN Iseo Murayama Improving Jancso's vital demonstration of Salvarsan, normal neo-tanvarsan (a Japanese neosalvarsan) was injected into a rabbit at the rate of 0.1 g per kilo of its weight, by the four following methods, and the viscera-deposit and the hours of the excretion of salvarsan were investigated. 1. Method with concentrated solution. Normal neo-tanvarsan was injected into the vein of a rabbit; the quantity used being 0.1 g dissolved in 5 cc Aq. dist. per kilo of the weight of the animal. 2. Method with dilute solution. The same quantity of normal neo-tanvarsan dissolved in 50 cc of 0.4% NaCl solution was injected into a vein in the same conditions as in method 1. 3. Method with active serum. The same dose of normal neo tanvarsan dissolved in 5 cc of the serum of a rabbit was injected into a vein in conditions otherwise identical with those of Methods 1. & 2. 4. Method with inactive serum. The serum of a rabbit was rendered inactive by subjection to a constant temperature of 60°C during the period of an hour. In this, normal neo-tanvarsan was disselved at the rate of 0.1g to 5 cc of serum per kilo of the weight of the animal, and injected into a vein. Air embolism reselted in the deaths of the rabbits treated in the abeve ways after periods of, 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 70 hours respectively. All the organs were then extracted, and sections made on the freezing microtome. Examination for salvarsan in the cells of the organs was made by the following method:- (A) Fixation in 10% Formalin for three days. (B) Making sections on the freezing microtome. (C) Bathing for 1,5 hours in a mixture of 1 part, 3% silver nitrate, to which had been added sufficient ammonia to destroy the brown turbidity of the liquid; and 1 part pure glycerine. In this developer, the salvarsan and derivates present in the tissues became brown-black in colour. (D) Cleansing for one minute in H(2)O. (E) Bathing in 1% thiosulphate of Soda (Na(2)S(2)O(3)) for 10 minutes. (F) Cleansing in H(2)O. By the above process, the following results were demonstrated. (1) In the case of the dilute injection, there is an even dispersion of salvarsan throughout the organs. In the casc of the injection of the concentrated solution salvarsan was found to be remarkably evident after 10 to 20 hours, as compared with the other methods. In the case of the inactive serum injection, the precipitation of salvarsan was least, viz. the affinity of the organs was least. (2) Thus, in these injections, salvarsan was taken in the Kupffercells of the liver, sinus cells and endothelial cells of the spleen, endothelial cells of the suprarenal gland, endothelial cells of the lymphatic gland, endothelial cells and reticular cells of bone marrow and histiocytare cells of interstitiar intermediate tissues of other organs (lungs, heart, testiculae, salivary glands, small intestine, thymus gland) and histioegtere cells of milk spots of the omentum and some parenchym cells (liver cells of liver and the epithelial cells of the kidney). In short, salvarsan is taken in endoreticular cells and some parenchym cells. (3) Finally, histological observation showed little difference in the injury to tissues, resulting from any these four methods of salvarsan injection. All the injections produced oft degeneration to the liver cells of the liver and epithelial cells of the kidney and congestion of each organ. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 44 10 1932 實驗的肝硬變症成因ニ對スル綱状織内被細胞系ノ意義特ニ脾「ホルモン」トノ關係 2567 2598 EN Kiyoto Tanakaya Many kind of researches have been made for the cause of the formation of liver cirrhosis and recently the relation between the spleen and the cause has been the subject of discussion. But there are many points that are not come to light yet. The author has made an investigation about the significance of the reticulo-endothelial system and spleen-hormone relating the rise of this disease. By looking ober the experimental methods of study that have been made, he can divide them in to four classes:- 1. To put in various kinds of medicines. 2. To give special or one and the same kind of food for a long time. 3. The bile duct and ligature of the veins that enter and leave. 4. To give bacteria and their products. As inflammatory poisons, among other things, alcohol, chloroform, phosphorus, arsenic, tar, adrenalinemia, decoction of tobacco-leaves, antimony arsenite, and etc. have been used for a long time. But lately it is reported that carbon tetrachloride was used to give rise to liver cirrhosis. Mr. Midorikawa injected 0.05cc. carbon tetrachloride as the quantity for a day into rabbits respectively for dozens of times over and made the image of liver cirrhosis in the liver. Mr. Paul Ramson, and Mr. Kubo have reported that they got the same result. As for the author, he injected 0.6cc. oleum olivarum which contains 20% of carbon tetrachloride per kilogram weight of body respectively into the male rabbits weighing some 1.5kg. each and accomplished the study. Experiment I.To research for the significance of the general reticulo-endothelial system in relation to the cause of this disease, first he made an experiment of reticulo-endothelial blocking that is to say, he made 1% collargol solution by Mr. Amano's method; and injected 0 65cc. of it into each rabbit through their ears' veins per kilogram weight of body. After that he detected the ebb and flow of reticulo-endothelial function for same days by using trypanblue solution by Mr. Adler-Reimann's method. This experiment made it sure that the quantity of collargol which was used in it reduced the function to the weakest state next day and it recovered 3 as usual after 14days.Thus given two groups of stout rabbit were used in this experiment. The first group were injected with collargol solution and next day with carbon-tetrachloride. Into the second group he injected carbon-tetrachloride first and collargol solution next day. After four days killed them all, he extirpated their livers, fitted them with 10% formalin solution, made cutting preparation gave various dyeing to them and detected the change of the disease.The result. of the experiment shows apparently addifference between the results of the two groups; that is, both of them showed degenerative metamorphosis of liver but the change of the first is far greater than that of the second. Next, the same experiment done ober every fifteenth day for a long period showed still the same result as that above mentioned.This proves that the perpection or the imperpection of the reticulo-endothelial function has an important significance relating the change of liver disease. Experiment II.The author made the following experiment to know the significance of spleen relating the cause of the formation of the experimental liver cirrhosis.Given four groups of rabbits were used in this experiment. The first group are stout ones as a standard; the second group whose spleens were extirpated six days ago; the third group who were once extirpated their spleens cleanly and soon made auto-transplantation in their bellies six days ago; the fourth group whose spleen were extirpated 45days ago. He injected 0.6cc. oleum olivarum which contains 20% carbontetrachloride into the above mentioned four groups of rabbits respectively per kilogram weight of body and after four days killed all of them and compared their liver cirrhosis in the same way. The period of 45days after the extirpation of spleen is the time when abolition in the function of spleen is to be compensated. By the result of the above experiment, clear distinction can be found out between the first group and the second group; namely, the change of the liver disease of rabbits after extirpation of spleens is in far higher degree than that of stout ones. But those of the third group and the fourth group are very slight and rather come near to that of the first group.This proves that the existence of spleen has an important significance in relation to the rise of this disease.Experiment III.Lately the study of internal secretion spring into existence and it was proved that spleen is one of the internal organs that do the internal secretion and that spleenextract contains spleen-hormone which is said chiefly to acts on reticulo-endothelial system. In order to examine the effect which spleen-extract works on the rising of this disease, he made the following experiment. First to detect how spleen extract works on stout rabbit, he injected 1.0cc. of 25 times diluted spleen-extract (Prepare:- see the authors thesis, "The biochemistric-study of spleen-extract") into the ears' veins of the first group for three days in succession per kilogram weight of body, and for the second group, as a standard, he injected 0.85% salt solution into them in the same way and the next day injected 0.6cc. oleum olivarum which contains 20% carbon-tetrachloride into the both groups per kilogram weight of body and killed them after four days and compared the change of the liver disease in the same way. Though the result of this experiment shows little difference between the first group and the second group, he found that the change of the former is comperatively less than that of the latter.Next he repeated the same experiment on the rabbits who were extirpated spleen six days ago and got the result of great difference between the first group and the second group; that is to say, the change of the disease in the case of injecting spleen-extract into the spleen extirpated rabbits was far slighter than that in the other case and was nearly in the same degree as that of ordinary rabbit. But, as a standard, in the case of injecting them with only 0.855% salt solution first and then carbon tetrachloride, the change of the liver disease was in exceedingly high degree. Again he made an experiment in the same way on the rabbits that were extirpated their spleen (6days) ago and blocked completely the rest of reticulo-endothelial cell by injecting their ears' veins with large quantity of 0.8cc. collargol solution per kilogram weight of body for three days in succession. And the result of it made a clear distinction between those of the first group and the second group; namely, the change of the disease of the rabbits that were injected with spleen-extract was far slighter than that of those who were injected, simply as a standard, with 0.85% salt solution.The author repeated the same experiment on the rabbits that were extirpated spleens six days ago, by using chloroform (to give through mouth 0.5cc. of it per kilogram weight of body) and "Nekoirazu" (to give through mouth 0.05 gram of it per kilogram weight of body).By this it is sure that the changes of the disease by injecting with spleen-extract are all slighter than those of the standard examples. And these experiments make it clear that spleen-hormone has an important relation to the cause of the formation of the experimental liver cirrhosis.From the experiments above mentioned the author has obtained the following conclusions:-I) The general reticulo-endothelial system relating the cause of the formation of the experimental system liver Cirrhosis has a fixed relation. That is, when the function of the general reticulo-endothelial system is imperfect or the spleen is abolished, the invasive poison attacks the livercells sooner and heavier.II) The change of the disease above mentioned is exceedingly lighten by the transplantation of spleen piese and the injection of spleen-extract. That is, the special substance of spleen (HORMONE-) has an action to be able to reduse the change of the liver by poison through the general reticulo-endothelial system, especially Kupper's star-cell. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 44 8 1932 脾臟越幾斯ノ生化學的檢索 2113 2131 EN Kiyoto Tanakaya (1) I enucleated out cleanly the spleen of a young dog and from this fresh spleen extracted the spleen-extract fluid diluted 25 times with distilled water. To examine the effectual dose, I injected in the veins of rabbits with 0.2cc, 0.5cc, 1.0cc, 1.5cc, and 2.0cc of the spleen-extract respectively per kilogram weight of the body for three days in succession, and on the fourth day injected 3.0cc of 1.5% trypanblau solution in the same way. And after a certain time I took the blood out of the rabbit and compared the quantity of the pigment which remained in the serums of each rabbit's blood and the quantity of the pigment which was excreted into the bile from the biliary fistula, with the standard fluid. Then I killed the injected rabbit after a certain time and by the histological examination of the liver and the spleen I made the comparative study of the multitute of the trypanblau pigment which the endothel cell ate; and thus I came to the following conclusion: It is proved that the best effect can be obtained when 1.0cc of the spleen-extract per kilogram weight of the body was injected and the larger quantity of it rather makes some obstruction. (2) To acertain whether the effectual essence of the spleen-extract can endure heat or not, I heated it at 56°C. for 30 minutes, °C. for 30 minutes, 70°C. for 30 minutes, 100°C. for 10 minutes, 100°C. for 20 minutes, 100°C. for 40 minutes, and 100°C. for 60 minutes and injected eath of then into, different rabbits and examined in the same way. In this case I may safely say that the action of the heated spleen-extract becomes somewhat weak, but even the one heated at 100°C. for 60 minutes, no boubt, stimulates reticuloendothel. (3) To examine albuminous in the spleen-extract I injected spleen-extract which contains albuminous into rabbits and the one from which albuminous was all taken out by the Volin u. Wu's method into others and thus obtaind nearly the same results. (4) I extracted the spleen with alcohol, acetone, ether, water and 5% glycerine-fluid respectively, and found that the quantity of the effectual essence contained in each extract in the same degree of dilution was as follws: ether>acetone>5% glycerin-fluid>water>alcohol (5) I compared the spleen-extract which I made by my own method, with the one made by Nitschke's method, which was made public lately, and it was proved that the action of the former was far stronger than that of the latter. From the experiments above mentiond, I affirm that the essence of the spleen-extract is the specific substance, hormon, which is contained in the spleen; that its fixed quantity stimulates the function of the reticuloendothelerialcells but its larger quantity rather makes some obstruction; that it can endure tolerably great heat; and that it is able to be extracted with alcohol, ether acetone, and water. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 44 5 1932 「オルニツール」酸ノ藥理學的作用ニ就テ 1530 1552 EN Mitsutaka Nakano The pharmacological action of phenol-glycuronic acid, urochloralic acid, glycuronic acid and benzoyl-glycuronic acid have been investigated in our Laboratory by Ishii, Matsushima, Tanaka and Sakata. Following the line of these investigations the author has studied the pharmacological action of ornithuric acid prepared from the urine of hen by giving sodium benzoate. The results obtained are as follows: (1) Ornithuric acid when given to the rabbit in its general circulation gives rise to a marked diuresis. Meanwhile it causes practically no change in general blood pressure, nor in the water content of the blood, and only the oncometric record shows an augmentation of kidney volume in every case. And in denervated or isolated kidney an increased perfusion rate is obtained. So it seems that in this vasomotor reaction the central nervous mechanism plays no part. (2) Ornithuric acid exerts diuretic action also on cold blooded animal. Analysis effected on perfused toad kidney showed that it concerns in this diuresis the glomerular system only, and that tubular system has nothing to do with. (3) The action of ornithuric acid on the blood vessel of the organs other than kidney is as follows: - Hind leg vascular system of the frog is dilated by low and constricted by high concentration of this substance in the perfusing fluid. Vascular system of the rabbit's ear shows similar reaction toward this substance. But coronary vascular system is constricted notwithstanding the concentration of this substance in the perfusing fluid. (4) Isolated hearts of toad and rabbit augment their tone and diminish the amplitude of their contraction by middle dosage and especially in the beginning, but then tone returns gradually to normal, accompanying an increase in the amplitude of contraction. By larger dosages there occurs an increase in amplitude of the heart beat during only a very short period at the beginning, then the amplitude decreases progressively to be finally arrested at systole. It must be noted that in every case there is no change in the frequency of heart beat. (5) In isolated smooth muscular organs of the rabbit, such as intestine, uterus and bladder, an augmentation in the tone and the spontaneous movement are observed for an appropriate dosage. Atropine has no influence on this effect, also the isolated trigonal and basal parts of the rabbit's bladder have shown no difference in their reaction toward this substance. (6) From these upper three results it may be concluded that ornithuric acid does not exert its action by way of the nervous mechanism but directly on the smooth muscular system. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 46 10 1934 肺臓原基ノ形態學的發生ニ就テ（鳥類殊ニ十姉妹ニ於ケル檢索） 2587 2608 EN Hideo Kaneoka Though many experiments concerning the development of the avian lung anlage have been performed, our knowlegde is still inadequate and defective with regard to the state of the development of air-sacs, parabronchi and recurrent bronchi. The author investigated to the development of the lung anlage of Uroloncha domestica Flower, comparing his results with those of Rösler, Shikinami, Murayama and Yakushiji, and in connection with this, further observed the state of the dovelopment of air-sacs, parabronchi and bronchial circuits. Most of the embryos were fixed in Zenker's fluid, and stained with borax-carmine. After subsequent treatment in the usual manner, these specimens were embedded in paraffin and trimmed and cut in transverse serial sections with a thickness of 10 microns. A number of models were prepared according to Born-Peter's method of wax-plate reconstruction. From the results obtained the following may be concluded. 1) The lung anlage of Uroloncha domestica Flower develops in pairs as in the case of the mammals and other birds. 2) In an embryo of 28 somites and 4.0mm in length, the first appearance of the lung anlage comes in as an enlargement of each side of the foregut caudal to the third gill-pouch. 3) In an embryo of 3.5mm length and of 31 somites, the lung anlage appears as a hernious enlargement on each side of the foregut. The distal end of the anlage foreshadows the bronchus anlage. 4) In an embryo of 4.5mm in length, the bronchus anlage is clearly distinguished and its distal portion is divided into the right and left mesobronchi. Each of the mesobronchi, markedly extending in the caudal direction, shows in the central portion of the dorsal surface the first division of the bronchus, i.e. Ent. 1., as a papillar bud-like enlargement. 5) In an embryo of 5.0-6.5mm length, each mesobronchus, divided from the bronchus, shows irregular spindle-shaped enlargement which forms the embryonic vestibulum. In an embryo of 7.0mm length, the embryonic vestibulum, surrounded by the mesobronchus, does not show any clear outline. 6) In an embryo of 5.0mm in length, the mesobronchus shows not only the Ent. 1. and 2., and at the caudo-medial portion Ent. 3. and 4., but also Ect. 1. and 2., which developed from the dorsal surface of the embryonic vestibulum. The four entobronchi enumerated in Uroloncha domestica Flower and these are in front of the embryonic vestibulum. 7) In an embryo of 5.5mm length, not only do each of the Ent. 1., 2., 3. and 4. show enlargement and proliferation, but the Ect. 1., 2. and 3. develop from the dorsal surface of the embryonic vestibulum, and the Lat. 2. is foreshadowed at the lateral wall of the embryonic vestibulum. 8) In an embryo of 6.0mm length, three branches from Ent. 1., extending towards cranial, transverse and medial, two branches from Ent. 2. towards ventro-lateral and dorso-lateral, two branches from Ent. 3. towards cranial and ventral, develop in connection with the enlargement of Ent. 4. The outlines of Ect. 1., 2., 3., 4., and Lat. 1., 2., 3. are clearly seem. 9) In an embryo of 6.5mm length, the first appearance of the air-sacs and parabronchi, which are proper to the bird's embryo, is observed. It arises from the Ent. 1., cranial the cervical air-sac, transversal the lateral moiety of the interclavicular airsac: from the Ent. 3., cranial the medial moiety of the interclavicular air-sac, ventral the anterior intermediate air-sac: from the Lat. 3., the posterior intermediate air-sac: from the Ent. 1. and 2., respectively 3. and 2. parabronchi: from the Ent. 3., each two parabronchi of the ventral and dorsal walls, and from Ent. 4. none. Further the ectobronchi develops 4 on the right side and 5 on the left. Ect. 1. divides in cranial and dorsal branches, from each of which two parabronchi develop. 3 parabronchi rise from Ect. 3.,4 . from Ect. 3.,a nd 2., from Ect. 4. At this time, Lat. 1., 2.,a nd 3. begin to appear and one parabronchus develops from Lat . 2. 10) In an embryo of 7.0mm length, each bronchial tree shows not only more enlargement and ramification, but each branch arising from the bronchial tree also shows marked development and grape-like appearance where they come in contact with each other. Ent. 1., and 2. from the ventral portion of the upper region of the lung. The tree-like parabronchi arising from Ent. 1., and 2., come in contact at the lateral surface of the upper region of the lung with the parabronchi from Ect. 1., 2. and Lat. 1., 2., which extend in a cranial direction. Ent. 3., and 4. from the ventral portion of the caudal lung region, and the parabronchi arising from these come into contact at the lateral and medial sides of the dorsal surface of the lung with those from the Ect. 2., 3., and 4. In this way, the parabronchi which come in contact with each other, combine together and from the bronchial circuits. And the anterior-intermediate-air-sac of the Ent. 3., as mentioned in the embryo of 6.5mm length, extending towards ventral, forms a rod-like prominence and develops the medial moiety that extends from cranial to ventral direction. At this stage, the first appearance of the recurrent bronchi is observed at the cranial extremity of the posterior-intermediate-air-sac, rising from Lat. 3. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 48 4 1936 急性腹膜炎ノ心臟ニ及ボス影響特ニEKG及ビ組織學的變化ニ就テ(實驗的研究)附. 出血トEKGトノ關係 833 930 EN Shozo Hiraide The literature on the influence of acute peritonitis upon the heart is very rare, and especially the investigation of this subject by electrocardiography is only published by Steinberg so far, whose description is not clear enough and not sufficient. Attempting to examine experimentally the changes of the heart due to acute peritonitis during the whole course from its beginn to the end, the author took the electrocardiogram changing all the time during the life period of the experimentally diseased dog by bacterious infection or artificial perforation. Bacterious infected acute peritonitis were produced by streptococcus haemolyticus, coli bacillus, Fraenkel's bacillus and mixed strains of all these kinds, and artificial perforation was performed in different dogs in stomach, ileum, jejumum and colon to ploduce acute perforated peritonitis. The careful studies comparing the changes of the electrocardiogram, clinical symptoms, postmortem findings, histological changes and bacteriological features revealed the following fact. As a preparatory experiment the statistic investigation of the electrocardiogram of 31 dogs which were employed to the research was made and proved difficult to define the typical form of the graph. The end wave T of the electrocardiogram varied complicatedly and in spite of various explanations given experimentally and theoretically by many writers the definite meaning of the alteration in the T wave of the electrocardiogram is not still decided. Investigating in healthy dogs the alteration in the T wave related to the depression of the bloodpressure caused by the haemorrhage from carotid, femoral and internal mammary artery and also from femoral vein, and on the other hand to the elevation of the bloodpressure due to the injections of Locke's solution, adrenalin and other cardiacs, the author revealed an important relationship i.e. the elevation of the bloodpressure caused a depression in the T wave, and the lowering of the bloodpressure made T wave enlarged. In the pathological heart this relation was not evident. Standing the systolic period of the heart and the number of pulse in geometrical relation, the increase of the latter causes the shortening of the former. Finding the average value of both factors in the electrocardiogram in 22 healthy dogs the author found a parabora shown in the following formula; A=139.57 P-0.374236 A is the systolic period, P is the nomber of pulse. In the same way the relationship between the period of heart beat (B) and the systolic period (A) was shown in the next formula; A=4.5167 B0.373227 Considering the error between the calculated value by these formulae and the measured value, the maxinum error should be 0.09 second. Therefore the greater difference than 0.09 second between the measured and calculated values means pathological heart conditions. The average life duration in the dogs suffered from acute experimental peritonitis due to bacterious infection was about 32 hours concerning with only lethal ending animals. Although in most of cases by Fraenkel's bacillus only death did not occur, the mixed infections by Fraenkel's bacillus and other germs showed a serious condition. The average life duration in the dogs produced acute experimental perforated peritonitis in them was 24.5 hours which was much shorter than in the former group, and another evidence was that no case of complete recovery was recorded, nevertheless among the former group some of cases were recovered. Among the perforated peritonitis in various parts the animal of the perforation in stomach died in the earliest stadium, and in jejunum in the latest, in ileum and in colon between them. In the bacteriological examination of the ascites in the perforated peritonitis Fraenkel's bacillus was found in all cases, coli bacillus in most of cases. In some cases of the short life duration after the ouset of the disease Fraenkel's bacillus was only recognized, on the contrary in cases of long life duration after the onset of the disease streptococcus was discovered most frequently, Speaking only about the perforated peritonitis the prognosis does not appear to depend on the sort of bacillus of abdominal infection, but on the site of the perforation.In most cases of streptococcus infection very quick weakness caused by malignant diarrhoea was observed, and in spite of the relative long life duration the features in abdominal cavity were malignant, and the heart was affected seriously showing endocarditis in some, destruction of the muscles of heart and karyolysis in the other, and subsequently the findings in the electrocardiogram suggested these changes of the heart.In some cases the irritant condition was seen after the onset of the disease, but there was no relationship to the prognosis and the findings in the heart.As the result of the postmortem findings, the. presence of gas, the character of the ascites and the changes of the parenchymatous organs did not show any. parallel relation to the physiological and anatomical changes of the heart, i.e. in cases of high grade affection in abdominal cavity only slight changes in the heart were recognised. In seven cases, 30 per cent of the peritonitis affected animals the changes in thoracic cavity especially in the lobe of the lung; congestion of the lobe, pneumonia and gangrene of the lung were detected, and in seven cases, 30 per cent, the congestion of the coronal artery was found in high grade, but not always parallel to the changes in the lobe of the lung, but speaking generally the changes of pleura and the lobes of the lung in high grade accompany the heart disorder. The heart of the animals of the infection of Fraenkel's bacillus and of short life duration after the onset of disease showed systolic stoppage. but the heart of mixed infected animals and of those which continued the serious condition in long period showed diastolic stoppage. In a case accompanied by serious pneumonia, the right ventricle in the diastolic stoppage and systolic stoppage of the left ventricle were observed.As the result of the investigation of the electrocardiogram in acute peritonitis the following facts should be noticed.P wave shows temporary enlargement, specially in cases of the haemorrhagic peritonitis the changes are most significant. In the animals of prolonged life duration and of weakness in high grade P becomes smaller and some times shows diphasic and inverted at times, but there was no parallelism to the pathological changes of the heart. In cases of abnormal prolongation of the auriculoventriclar transmission of stimulus could not find any histological changes of the heart.When the swelling of the abdominal cavity, the upwards compression of diaphragm and the dislocation of the heart to the left side by the accumulation of gas and ascites in the abdominal cavity and also by the paralysis and distension of the digestive tract were observed after the onset of peritonitis, the principal ventricular waves Q R S show laevogram very frequently, but not so often before death. Laevogram was observed in cases of the congestion of the coronal artery in high grade, and in cases of the pathological changes of the lobes of the lung or pleura laevogram was seen in many occasions.After the onset of peritonitis cases of the depression of S T line increased gradually and became 52% of cases before death, and even in cases of nondepression, non-typical form was observed. In most cases of the depression of S T line the heart showed diastolic stoppage, and the destruction of the muscles of the heart, and karyolysis were detected and sometimes occurred endocarditis,The granuler mitochondria was stained thin in various size and irregular arrangement. It is understood that the depression of the S T line or non-typical form represents the weakness of the heart or the cardiac diseases.After the onset of peritonitis T rises always temporarily and shows a large normal type as the depression of the bloodpressure, and when the animals died in the early stadium by the acute haemorrhagic peritonitis the electrocardiogram resembles to that of the animals before death by loss of blood. But when the animals lived long time and the weakness of the heart increased gradually, T became smaller and sometimes showed an inversion or diphasic. Coronal T was observed in cases of high grade changes of the heart accompanying pericarditis, pneumonia or gangrene of the lung as a complication or in pregnant cases.Investigating the influonce of peritonitis upon the time of the transmission of stimulus by the resistration of the curve and the comparison of the measured values to the calculated values, the author recognized that the time of the auriculoventriclar transmission of stimulus and the systolic period of ventricles were shortened together, as the progress of peritonitis, but when the changes of the heart increased in high grade, showed evident prol ongation of the time and greater value than maximum error.When pneumonia appeared, Sm enlarged greatly and Tn, m showed large normal type and at the same time the depression of S T line proved significant, and it was proved that the socalled dominance of the left ventricle or laevogram appeared similarly in the complication of peritonitis with pneumonia as well as in oases of simple pneumonia. But in one of the peritonitis affected animals suffered from the gangrene of the left lung, empyema and pericarditis as complications dextrogram was experienced. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Faculty of Engineering, Okayama University Acta Medica Okayama 1349-6115 45 2011 Hyper Least Squares and Its Applications 15 26 EN Kenichi Kanatani Prasanna Rangrajan Yasuyuki Sugaya Hirotaka Niitsuma 10.18926/44496 We present a new least squares (LS) estimator, called “HyperLS”, specifically designed for parameter estimation in computer vision applications. It minimizes the algebraic distance under a special scale normalization, which is derived by rigorous error analysis in such a way that statistical bias is removed up to second order noise terms. Numerical experiments suggest that our HyperLS is far superior to the standard LS and comparable in accuracy to maximum likelihood (ML), which is known to produce highly accurate results in image applications but may fail to converge if poorly initialized. Our HyperLS is a perfect candidate for ML initialization. In addition, we discuss how image-based inference problems have different characteristics form conventional statistical applications, with a view to serving as a bridge between mathematicians and computer engineers. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 1 2011 量としての分数から数としての分数への移行を図る分数指導の研究 37 46 EN Toyoo Kurosaki Daisuke Marui 10.18926/CTED/44375 平成20年度告示の小学校学習指導要領が平成23年度から完全実施される。従前のゆとり教育における分数指導は、集中方式で指導が行われた。第4学年では分数概念を、第6学年では分数計算の指導が行われてきた。基礎的・基本的知識・技能の確かな習得を目指す新しい分数指導では集中方式を改め、スパイラル方式で指導が行われる。しかも、第2学年から分数指導が行われる。分数概念に関する指導の最重要課題は、「量としての分数」から「数としての分数」の移行を図り、確かな「数としての分数」の概念を習得させることにある。そこで、本研究では、「量としての分数」から「数としての分数」へどのような移行指導すれば「数としての分数概念」を確実に習得することができるのか、その指導のポイントを実践的、実証的に明らかにする。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山大学教師教育開発センター Acta Medica Okayama 2186-1323 1 2011 特別活動との関連づけによる道徳的実践力の研究 29 36 EN Kiyohiro Sakuta Toyoo Kurosaki 10.18926/CTED/44374 社会の変動の激しい時代にあって，地域の大人とのつながり，学校での友だちとのつながりでさえ希薄になる傾向が進んでいる。望ましい人間関係がつくれなかったり，自分の目標を見失ったり，自分に自信を失ったりする子どもが増えている。こうした子ども達が望ましい人間関係を築くことができるようになるためには，日々の生活において他者，社会に積極的に関わり，人間としてのよりよい在り方を自覚し，よりよい生き方を求めていく中で，望ましい道徳性をはぐくむ必要がある。そこで，同年齢とふれあう学級活動や異年齢児童とふれあう学校行事などの特別活動を通じて，他者や社会に積極的に関わる道徳教育を行う。こうした体験的に自分の周りの人を思いやる心，正義や公正を重んじる心，協力し合う心をはぐくめば，社会性や相手の立場を思いやる心の大切さに気づき，望ましい人間関係を築き上げることができると考える。本研究では，特別活動との総合単元的道徳学習の実践事例をもとにして，子ども達の心の変革の要因を分析・考察し，道徳的実践力の育成の効果を検討する。 No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 65 1 2011 The Relationship between Joint Pain and Climate Conditions in Japan 41 48 EN Kimihiko Tokumori Da-Hong Wang Tomoko Takigawa Jiro Takaki Keiki Ogino Original Article 10.18926/AMO/43829 This study aimed to determine whether there was any association between the regional climate and the proportion of people with joint pain. Regional climate data between 1971 and 2000 were obtained from the Japan Meteorological Agency. The variables used in the cluster analysis included sunlight hours, amount of precipitation, number of days with precipitation, and temperature. The regional proportion of people with joint pain was obtained from the National Survey for Health in 2001. After performing a cluster analysis, one-way ANOVA and Welch's test were used to determine whether the climate characteristics of the clusters were significantly different. Within each cluster, stepwise multiple linear regression analyses were performed. We found that sunlight hours showed a direct, negative association with the proportion of people with joint pain (adjusted R2＝0.532, p＝0.016) in cluster 1, which was characterized as the region with the fewest total hours of sunlight, less precipitation, a modest number of rainy days, and low temperature. In the other clusters, the regional female population rate (cluster 2) and the senior population rate (cluster 3, 4) were the primary predictors. We concluded that the degree of exposure to sunlight may play a crucial role in prevention of joint pain. This finding should encourage people to set aside some time for staying outdoors in their daily lives. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 64 6 1952 吉田腫瘍腹水より分離し得たVirus HST (Hamazaki) について第1篇分離方法及び分離初期におけるマウス所見 1258 1270 EN Masabumi Takahashi During the last ten years since Yoshida discovered his ascites tumor (1943), many authors have intended to isolate a certain living agent immediately from the tumor ascites, but nobody succeeded. In 1950 Y. Hamazaki et al. have theoretically concluded that the tumor cell must contain a certain virus, because they have verified many fine granules of polymerized desoxyribonucleic acid in the cytoplasm which were demonstrated by Feulgen's reaction. And then, about a year later we and I fortunately succeeded in isolating and successive transmissions of a new virus (virus HST) from the tumor ascites and proofed sero-immunologically that the virus is nessesary to complete the transplantation of the ascites tumor successfully. Method of isolation. Mice which were transmitted intracranially with 0, 02 cc of the ascites, as a rule, died in a range of 5-6 days under serious brain symptoms with paralysis. The agonized animals were killed to prepare an emulsion of their brain which was diluted decimal with bouillon and centrifuged 2500 r. p. m. for 5 mins. By several successive intracraianlly transmissions of 0, 02 cc of supernatant from brain emulsion, the animals became very sensitive and paralysis disappeared. Transmitting it continuously (on the course of passage, filtration of the emulsion by Seitz's filter-plate was done once a time), we could obtain a fixed virus causes a certain meningoencephalitis in mice. The other case, we have immediately transmitted the ascites afresh into the abdominalcavities of normal mice. 4-6 days later, they suffered from the heavy ascites and gradually became very sensitive too. Their brains were made into emulsion in the same way as mentioned above and intracranial transnsmissions of it was done successively. Histological findings, 1) Mice inoculated with the ascites. Dissecting the cranial cavities you can find an unclean, yellow, thick foil on the pia mater. The tumor cells multiply limitlessly in and out of the brain. The meningitis takes place chiefly in the ventral surface of the brain and the dorsal surface of the midbrain. The glia cells, especially the subependymal fibrillary glia cells often multiply in enormous numbers and infiltrate near by. 2) Mice inoculated with the isolating virus. Similar histological changes, as above mentioned, could in miniature be seen. Especially, changes of the adjacent area of the lateral ventricle cavities and the edema of the brain parenchyma or the hydrocephalus interna often could be seen characteristically. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 66 8 1954 Newcastle Disease Virusの免疫に関する研究第2編感染動物臓器よりつくつたNewcastle virus vaccineの抗原性に就て 1661 1673 EN Fumio Nakagawa Although there are many investigations about the effects of various antigens of the Newcastle disease virus, the author makes reports on the antigenicity of this virus and also on the immune effects of various fractions obtained on the way of purification of the used materials. The materials chosen for this research were the fowl brains and chick-embryos infected with this virus. 1) In the case where the tissue emulsion was chosen as vaccine, the emulsized tissue as it was had very remarkable effect. 2) Whether formal dehyde or merzonin may be used for inactivation, the immune effect remained to the same degree. 3) The condensation of chorioallantoic fluid to one-fifth of it by Brumfield's methanol sedimentation method, showed great loss of antigenicity, having the hemagglutination and infectious titers of only one-second of those of the original chorioallantoic fluid. 4) The purified and non-purified antigens of the infected chorioallantoic fluid and of 10% emulsions of the fowl brains and chick-embyros were inoculated into the hearts of chickens. Then the purified antigen of chorioallantoic fluid and non-purified antigen of emulsized chick-embryos showed better results than the others, in all of the tests of sen sitized cell agglutination, hemagglutination and of protection against infection. 5) The Newcastle disease virus had its kaolin-adsorption and -dissociation points at pH 4.0 and 8.0 respectively, and the adsorption on kaolin was well performed by repeating it twice. 6) Studying the nitrogen quantity and infectious titer of the kaolin-adsorption and -dissociation products of 10% fowl brain emulsions, the supernatant of adsorption was rich in tissue components and poor in viruses, but that of dissociation was rich in viruses and poor in tissue components. 7) The portion, which is rich in tissue elements and poor in viruses, showed greater antigenicity than the other portion, when they were inactivated and inoculated into chick-hearts. Considering the above-mentioned results, the emulsized chick-embryos as these are seem to be the best one as the antigen of Newcastle disease virus, in view of the intensity of the antigenicity, and the possibility of intramuscular injection and mass production. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 66 7 1954 前立腺肥大症と腎機能に関する実験的研究第1編人の前立腺浸出液注射による腎臟機能障碍について 1257 1297 EN Shigemichi Ohto 1. After having Prepared extracts each from normal prostate gland, slightly glandular hypetrophied prostate gland in mixed form, as well as from highly hypertrophied prstate gland, all taken out of human being, injected them subcutaneously in a dog, in doses of 5-2cc per day, for 14-16 weeks continually; and examined in each case such as general view, changes that happened to Rest-N, Cl, Ur as well as Ur in the Blood, at the same time making efforts to find out changes in function, by way of urinal symptoms, and alike by way of fluid test. 2. In cases where the extract from human normal prostate gland has been administered, no conspicuous change could be seen. 3. All cases in which extracts from human hypertrophied prostate gland were injected, as to the genral view, first came thirst, followed by loss of appetite, anxietly, depression; moreover, gave rise to a general exhaution. Then, abatement of body weight, as well as oedema appeared in limbs (esp. in back limb); which seemed to be accompanied by icterus. 4. As for Rest-N, Cl, Ur and Ur, all have indicated rapid or certain gradual increase. 5. As for urinal symptoms, red blood cells were recognized in almost all cases, which verified albumin, at the last stage of administration. In most outstanding cases, urinal cylinder could be detected. 6. In fluid test, an important hindrance of concentration ability was recognized; and though the dog was kept in normal state, there occurred something like hyposthenuria. However, no great change happened to the abilities both of excretion as well as dilution. Besides, no clear sign of initial polyuria could be seen. 7. These changes have all differed in degree, dne to histological diversion of admi-nistered prostate gland; and in general, the glandular hypertrophy type affected greater than mixture hypertrophy type; where moreover, the greater the hypertrophy, stronger in hindrance. 8. In our experiment, in only one case (3rd case) it was found that 6 mouths after the suspension of administration, every symptoms became normal. 9. Hindrance of kidney function seen among those in which extracts from hypertrophied prostate gland were administered, seems to have resulted from Nephrose incurred histolo-gically, which, even if a extract of very slightly hypertrophied prostate gland has power to incur. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 66 6 1954 海猽の被働性過敏症に於ける抗原再注射場所による影響に就いて（過敏症実験3） 1187 1193 EN Keizo Yamasita On the local influence of antigen reinjection in passive anaphylaxis of guinea pig. 1) There was found no great difference among cases where a guinea pig was sensitized with high value anticrystallines hen's egg white rabbit serum, V. jugunaly, A. caroticaly, as well as, through A. mesentericus. 2) Most part of antigens through the brain and intestines was supposed as the case when injected V. jugunaly, to reach the lung by way of the heart. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 66 5 1954 大腸菌ファージの実験的研究第二編血球核及び核様物に依る大腸菌ファージの増殖について 919 932 EN K. Sasaki In my method for the separation and purification of the colibacteriophage, I employed the chromatograph; but I examined the bacteriosolving phenomenon of the phage by using host bacteriofiltrate and rabitt antiserum for host bacterium, as well as, nucleus and nuclear substance of the blood corpuscle of cock and tortoise. In the former I did not get a good result, but I found that the phage growth was accelerated in a high degree in the latter, and consequently this report was written. First, I defibrinierted the 2cc. blood of cook and tortoise, and made the bloodsuspension by ordinary method and then centrifuged it; added distilled water to the blood-corpuscle after the centrifugation, oscillated, mixed well, and demolished the protoplasm by distilled water. As soon as the white nucleus is suspended uniformly, physiological salt, water is added to it in a large quantity; dissolving the pure dregs which were obtained after severaltimes of centrifugation in 5cc. salt water, I presented the same substance that was completely solved for experiment. Then I dyed and microscoped it, and noticed thickly dyeing nucleus as well as a large number of fine granular substance dottes arround it. The strength of colibacteriophage as contrast was 10(-3), but it rose to 10(-27) when the nucleus and nuclear substance of cock was added to it so that it might he diluted same as the first. Moreover, the strength of phage rose to 10(-20) in the filtrate of this nucleus and nuclear substance. In regard to nucleus and nuclear substance of tortoise, the strength of phage was not so strong as cock, but it rose to 10(-14) When I heated the nucleus and nuclear substance of cock bloodcorpuscle in the water bath, the degree of growth facility decreased together with the heat, and it seemed that the effect of growth facility is lostt almost at 100-120°C. "The Feulgen Reaktion" of nucleus and nuclear substance of the blood was all positive, and it increased the degree of transparence together with the heat. It was discovered that. DNA is contained in the nucleus of blood together with a little of RNA, and it is difficult to separate the pure nucleus from the blood, so it is considered apparently that the protoplasm has lost its way within it. In a word, both the nucleus and the nuclear substance of the blood are considered that they play an important part in the growth of coli bacteriophage. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 66 3 1954 聽覚による方向識別に関する研究（其の四）（方向識別機転） 449 458 EN This test was held in a sound-poof room, and the sources of the sound were all of pure tone. The audiometer receivers were connected to a double audiometer. The examinee had an apparent source of sound and the intensity difference and the time difference varied between both ears. The angular displacement of the apparent source was measured in contrast to the pure tone from a loud speaker connected to a beat frequency oscillator and was audible through spaces between the receivers and the ears. It was ascertained that the value of displacement was proportional to the logarithm of the ratio of intensities. (Stewsat's logarithmic law) Stewart's constant is different according to individuals. The constant does not vary with the increasing frequency. The value of the angular displacement was proportional to the difference of the lengths of two sound-ways. The relation of the angular displacement (θ) with the time difference (T) and intensity difference (I) were as follows; θ=f(1)(I)+f(2)(T) Intensity difference must be of extensively great quantity to remove the apparent source. Time difference is the most important factor in actual localization. Intensity have more influence upon localization in acoustically fatigued Person and in patients with deafness. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 67 5 1955 高温環境下に於ける糖代謝第2編高温環境下に於ける糖代謝に及ぼす二，三のhormone及び自律神経毒の影響 1007 1015 EN Yoshio Obara The glycogen content in both livers and muscles as well as the blood sugar values were measured after letting guinea pigs standing for 2 hours at room temperature or at 41°C. after imposition of a definite dose of insulin, Thyradin, adrenalin, pilocarpine and atropine and in some cases together with vitamin C, and the following results were obtained: 1. Though liver glycogen always decreased by imposing these drugs, the action of pilocarpine seemed to be weaker than Thyradin, and the ones of insulin, adrenalin and atropine were most apparent in a similar degree. 2. Liver glycogen content decreased further by exposing the animals to high temperature after imposing these drugs, but the degree, from the viewpoint of the decrease caused by drug itself, was not so different among these drugs except insulin, which introduced an apparent decrease, and agreed well with the degree of the cases exposed to high temperature without imposition of these drugs. 3. The decrease of liver glycogen content of the animals exposed to high temperature after imposition of these drugs was inhibited by simultaneous imposition of vitamin C, and the inhibition was predominant over the decrease owed to insulin or atropine. 4. Muscle glycogen content decreased slightly by adrenalin and apparently by atropine, and the other drugs seemed to have no obvious action. 5. Muscle glycogen content decreased more or less in all cases by being exposed to kigh temperature after imposition of the drugs, and the degree, from the viewpoint of the decrease caused by drug itself, was higher in adrenalin and pilocarpine cases than in insulin and Thyradin cases, and the one of an atropine case was far low agreeing with the case exposed to high temperature without imposition of the drug. 6. The decrease of muscle glycogen content under high temperature after imposition of these drugs was more or less inhibited by simultaneous imposition of vitamin C, but these effects appeared hardly on insulin and pilocarpine cases, while the action of vitamin C was predominant over the action of atropine. 7. Though blood collection made the blood sugar values increase, the values in all cases except atropine imposition, which made the value much more increase than the non-imposed, grew lower than the one before collection, and the degree was most obvious to insulin case. 8. The blood sugar values under high temperature after imposition of these drugs decreased further in insulin, Thyradin and pilocarpine cases, while increased in an adrenalin case and the increase in an atropine case was accelerated. 9. By further imposition of vitamin C on the above mentioned cases, the blood sugar values were influenced by vitamin C in a way to inhibit both the decrease in a Thyradin case and the increase in atropine and adrenalin caes, but no influence was proved in insulin and pilocarpine cases. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 67 5 1955 P(32)による実験的日本脳炎に関する研究第二篇脳内病毒接種マウス脳及び肝に於ける核酸代謝のSchmidt & Thanhauser法による研究 961 974 EN Takahisa Osada In the previous paper by the same author the nucleic acid metabolism in some organs which was infected by Japanese B Encephalitis was studied by Schneider's method. Some detailed study by Schmidt & Thanhauser's method on this problem was further undertook and is going to be reported here. P(32) was used as the tracer throughout this investigation and was injected intraperitoneally into the mice at the acme stage of infection. After the time intervals of 6 and 24 hours were collected certain quantities of brain, which were then fractionated by Schmidt & Thanhauser's method into DNH- and RNA- fractions These nucleic acid fractions were investigated on their P(32) contents. By comparing the results with those obtained from the control references made by treating the healthy mice with P(32) in the same way, an increase in P(32)-activity was recognized at the DNA-fraction of the brain, this indicating the fact that, when mouse is infected with the virus, the DNA-fraction of the brain suffers a marked change. Similar investigation was also carried out at the incubation period. In this case, however, an increase in the P(32)-activity was observed at the DNA and PNA-fraction of the liver collected from the mice infected with the virus. It is fully interesting that this increase in P(32)-activity shows intimate accordance with the visceral phase of the disease. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 67 2 1955 腸間膜瘢痕症の筋電図学的研究第1編実験的研究 591 602 EN Hiroshi Inoue The scar was made by mechanical and inflammatory way on the mesenterium in dog experimentally. In 22 cases of these 32 cases discahrgesat rest were found in the myogram of dorsal muscles from about 2 weeks after the operation. which ceased immediately by the lesion of the nerves of the mesenterium. Countless nerve fibres in the scar of the mesenterium were proved by Bielschowsky's sheath staining. As mentioned above, it is a viscerosensory reflex caused by abnormal stimulation of afferent nerve fibres passing through the scar. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 67 2 1955 肉眼的並に組織学的に見たる成人大脳運動領域の個人差に関する研究 539 559 EN Ryosuke Oota The brain was fixed with formalin, washed by water, dehydrated with alcohol and etheralcohol, inbedded in celloidin and then stained by Nissl's method. The cells larger than 27.5 were to be considered as the Betz-cells. The area, where the Betzcells were found, were regarded as the motor area and the schemata of 70 cases of motor cortex were made. The fact was cleared from those schemata, that in the vicinity of th motor area those, which showed similar macroscopic findings, had similar extension of the motor area. The schemata of the macroscopic figure of the motor cortex were classified into 5 types and each type had its own shape of the motor area. There were a few exceptions among them, but they had also some close relation to the sulci. Among the 70 cases, those. in which the sulcus praecentralis superior was the anterior border, had the majority of 72.9%. In about 60% of all cases the motor area on one hemisphere was similar to the other side. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 67 2 1955 大脳皮質運動中樞の交錯性配列に関する研究 505 538 EN Kakuichi Nakanishi After removing the parts of each motor area of fore-limb, hind-limb, both areas of them and mixed area of both-limbs, the degeneration of the nerve fibres was pursued by Marchi staining. There were found not only the efferent fibres coming directly down, but also those taking roundabout way from these each of the fore- and hind-limb (all of the latter had been considered as associating fibres up to the present) and thus it was illustrated that they were intricating. These fibres included the pyramidal tract as well as the extrapyramidal tract. When the investigation was performed till the end of the spinal cord, it was found that the area for the hind-limb included a part of the fibres reaching the fore-limb. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 68 12 1956 結石の生長にかんする結晶学的研究 2555 2569 EN I. Yamada Various concrements from the human body were investigated by metalloscopy, and their growing mechanism was studied. 1. The surface of forty choleliths, more than 50 uro-liths and 2 sialoliths were investigated by metalloscopy. A figure of spiral growth was seen in 9 uroliths, but neither in choleliths nor in sialoliths. 2. As above mentioned, there were a few caliculi, which developed by spiral growth mechanism, just like the usual crystal formation in the nature. These caliculi were consisted of uric acid mainly. 3. In uric acid caliculi at first the crystal granuli grow in spiral mechanism as elements and play a main roll for growth. In such way they need no strong colloidal chemical changes for their growth. 4. Other caliculi, in which no spiral growth figure has been found, are of course to have to had crystals as their main elements. Therefore it is considered that, they grow in the same spiral mechanism which could not only be found because of their desiccation after extirpation and insufficient magnification. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 69 12 1957 バルビタールの体液中濃度と睡眠に関する研究第2編バルビタールの血中濃度と髓液濃度 3211 3214 EN Keisuke Sarai The pathway by which barbital reaches the brain is still unknown. Generally there are two possible pathways through which substances in blood enter into the brain, namely, one, directly through blood vessels and the other, by way of the choriomeningeal plexus. Barbital will possibly enter the brain by the former pathway but it may enter the brain by way of the cerebro-spinal fluid as in the case of P.(32) In order to verify this point, I have measured the barbital concentrations in the lumbar fluid and the ventricle fluid, each obtained at the time of lobotomy and at the pneumo-ventriclography, respectively. From these results, it has been found that barbital immigrated into the cerebro-spinal fluid faster than bromine so that there seems to be a possible pathway to the brain through this fluid. Moreover, in the measurements of the barbital concentration in the ventricle fluid after oral administration has been found higher than that in the lumbar fluid. For this reason, I believe that the choriomeningeal plexus plays the leading rôle in the production of the cerebro-spinal fluid as contended by other investigators. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 69 10 1957 恙虫病病毒の補体結合反応に関する研究第一編補体結合反応に関する基礎的研究 2637 2649 EN Jiro Kono Three strains of R. tsutsugamushi, Karp, Mitani and Tanizawa strains, were inoculated into the peritoneal cavity of guinea-pigs previously injected with chlorpromazine. The peritoneal exudates of thus treated guinea-pigs were diluted with physiological salt solution and were used as the compliment-fixing antigens. The sera of rabbits immunized with living rickettsiae were used as the antisera. The compliment fixation test was carried out in the conventional way. The results are summarized as follows: 1) The peritoneal exudates showed a high compliment-fixing antigenicity, but did not show any anti-compliment-fixing antigenicity. 2) In the presence of homologous and heterologous antisera, the antigen of Karp strain did not show any significant difference in the suppression titer of hemolysis. 3) In both of homologous and heterologous antisera, the antigen of Mitani strain showed strong compliment-fixing action. 4) The antigen of Mitani strain had a compliment-fixing antigenicity, showing no noticeable difference in the suppression titer of hemolysis in both of homologous and heterologous antisera. Consequently, the peritoneal exudates of guinea-pigs treated as mentioned above, in regard to compliment-fixing antigenicity, have the same rickettsial specificity, but no noticeable strain specificity. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

岡山医学会 Acta Medica Okayama 0030-1558 69 9 1957 Sh. flexneriに属する菌のglucose代謝第3編培地C源とglucose酸化の関係 2469 2475 EN Gohei Fujimoto In the study of the modos of glucose oxidation using Sh. flexneri 1 a, 2 a, or 3 a as the test bacteria, and glucose, gluconate, or ribose as the carbon source of the medium, the following results were obtained. 1. Every one of these bacteria cultured in the glucose medium can oxidize glucose well, but can not oxidize gluconate nor ribose. Those bacteria growing on the gluconate medium can oxidize glucose and gluconate well, but hardly ribose. The bacteria growing in the ribose medium can oxidize glucose and ribose well but not gluconate. 2. From the results obtained in the experiment using DNP as an inhibitory agent, it is assumed that glucose is mainly oxidized by way of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway by the bacteria grown on each of these culture media. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.